Power Of Our Tongue!

Prov. 25:15 tells us - A gentle tongue can break a bone.

Even when someone says something offensive, responding with gracious words can have positive results. For example, the teenage son of a single mother was leading a double life. A well-meaning Christian sister said to the mother: “It’s too bad you have failed at child training.” The mother thought for a moment and responded: “It’s true that things are not going well right now, but his training is a work in progress. Talk to me after Armageddon; then we will know for sure.” This mild response helped to maintain peace between the sisters, and it encouraged the son, who overheard the conversation. He realized that his mother had not given up on him. This moved him to stop his bad associations. In time, he got baptized, and he later served at Bethel. Whether in the company of our brothers, our family, or strangers, we should always let our words “be gracious, seasoned with salt.”

 How we say something can be as important as what we say. When Jesus spoke in the synagogue of his hometown of Nazareth, the people were “amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth.” Gracious speech appeals to the heart and in no way weakens the power of our tongue. In fact, graciousness can make our speech more persuasive. We can imitate Jesus’ gracious speech by being kind, courteous, and considerate of others’ feelings. Seeing the effort a crowd made to hear him speak, Jesus was moved with pity and “started to teach them many things.” Even when he was being insulted, Jesus did not resort to harsh speech. 

 Speaking with mildness and tact can be a challenge when our listener is someone whom we know very well. We might feel at liberty to be very frank. That can be true whether we speak with a family member or a close friend.  The ability to express our thoughts and feelings in words is truly a marvel. So my friends may we follow Jesus’ example by choosing the right time, striving to select the proper words, and putting forth effort to be gracious. Then the power of our tongue will be a healing to our listeners and pleasing to God, the Giver of the precious gift of speech. 

Thank you for reading.