Let's Dialogue

“Weapons kill”. “Weapons save”. While this might seem like a chant between two political parties, the truth is that weapons have done both, with over 40 wars currently being fought over place, power, and possession.

Having grown up in a disputed land, I know how the struggle for a place to call home draws individuals to the fight. It doesn’t matter if that place was a rocky patch of ground, a dusty plot, or a soil bristling with thorns—once claimed, it becomes a precious gem worth defending, worth fighting for, and even worth dying for.

The struggle can be merciless, without distinction between child and soldier, tank and tree. The weapons can endanger the precious people who stand on that rocky, dusty, and thorn-filled ground.

Yet, the paradox is that these same weapons can stop a hostile aggressor and ensure that our loved ones are safe in our land.

I have just returned from a visit to my homeland, that arid, rugged, and prickly place that holds both despair and hope. It is the country where weapons bear double significance, dependent on which side of the road you stand.

While not every person has a weapon to protect or harm, there is a weapon roaming freely in every land. This weapon also has the power of life and death, capable of both destruction and salvation. Yet what sets it apart is that no license or special training is needed to use this weapon.

This prevalent weapon is the tongue.

All too often, we neglect to truly understand the significance of our tongues, failing to invest the time and effort necessary to train and refine this formidable instrument. As Proverbs 18:21 declares, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”

Just as weapons hold immense power, so do words. They possess the capacity to dismantle and divide, bringing death and destruction. Yet, they can also restore and construct, bringing life and healing. Within minutes, tongues can shift from bestowing life-giving words to uttering words that bring devastation. While some focus on wars and weapons, let’s not overlook the inherent power wielded by our words.

Do we love death by neglecting to train our powerful tongues?

An unchecked tongue resembles a weapon unleashed, its bullets piercing and ricocheting hearts and minds. The accumulating damage erodes the very fabric of relationships until everything crumbles. The fruit borne by such a tongue is like death, causing rifts among loved ones, dividing colleagues, even destroying the harmony between church members.

The phrase “Those who love it will eat its fruit” resonates deeply. What is it that we truly love? The power of our tongues? And what kind of fruit will we partake in through this love? Will it be sweet or bitter? Nourishing or harmful?

As a professor of communication, I frequently interact with students who possess a fondness for conversation. If you delight in speaking and desire to make it a central part of your life, I urge you to also possess a healthy reverence for its potential destructiveness. Like a weapon, understanding its inherent dangers is crucial. By mastering it, you can avoid wielding it recklessly.

But taming the tongue may prove more challenging than taming an army since our words originate from the depths of our hearts and minds. Knowing that our hearts have a natural tendency towards wickedness, we must recognize our dependence on divine help to gain mastery over our words.

Words = death or life?

However, the tongue itself is not inherently evil. It is a tool, one that, hopefully, is employed for life-giving purposes. Taming the tongue can breathe life into our world. Listening attentively imparts life. Speaking with wisdom and grace imparts life. The tongue could equal life, and those who achieve mastery over it are like seasoned gardeners who yield an abundance of good fruit.

If you haven’t given much thought to the power of your words lately, I encourage you to make a conscious decision to embrace life instead of death. Take the time to reflect on your words and their impact. Delve deeper into understanding the weapon you carry with you every day: your tongue.

Just as gardeners tend to their plants with care, cultivate your communication skills with intention. Consider the weight of your words, their potential to build up or tear down, to bring life or inflict harm. Recognize the immense power they hold to shape relationships, influence others, and leave a lasting impact. Explore resources that shed light on effective communication, the art of using words to inspire, encourage, and foster understanding.

By investing in the study and mastery of your tongue, you can transform it into a force for good, a tool that brings life and blessings to those around you. Submit to God’s guidance on what your heart and mind should dwell on. Choose life-giving words, words that unite, heal, and uplift.

The communication discipline and scripture inspires me to understand how to tame my tongue. Reflect with me on the following verses and let’s strive together to love life rather than death through the powerful weapons of our tongues.

1. Proverbs 15:4 – “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”
2. James 3:5 – “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!”
3. Proverbs 21:23 – “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.”
4. Proverbs 10:19 – “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.”
5. Matthew 12:36-37 – “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
6. Proverbs 12:18 – “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”
7. Psalm 34:13 – “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.”
8. Proverbs 13:3 – “Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.”
9. Ephesians 4:29 – “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
10. Proverbs 21:23 – “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.”