Proverbs 18:21

[hmbld]

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue” 

I am interested if anyone has something to say about the implications of this verse.

[hmbld]

Psalms 33:9  For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

[hmbld]

Psalm 35:28  And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness and of Your praise all the day long.

[1to3]

For sure Words can have power if we let them have power over us.

Usually when someone means a lot to us, their words have more bearing than someone not as close to us,

and even still, we can get 100 compliments and one insult. Its the insult that if we give it power,  may effect us more than all the compliments.

There is reason why the Word of God warns us to guard our tongue.

Because with it we can bring life or death.

The saying" sticks and stone may brake my bones but words will never hurt me.Never worked for me." never truly worked  to give me peace of mind  nor to bring forgiveness unto the person who spewed them out.

But revenge it mine says the Lord.

Us throwing back an insult is neither the correct way to go about it, yet it is a reflex on many of our lips.

It takes divine Love in Gods plan of Mercy and Grace through Christ Jesus to learn to master our tongues

First though we must become aware of the weigh our words can have on others.

I know that I have needed divine Love to help me overcome some hurtful words that were thrown to me in my early developmental years by my primary care givers. They affected me greatly because they were coming from sources that I so desperately wanted and needed to be loved by.

their words had a great impact on how i developed.

And then later on my own words that I have thrown about carelessly have been wrong for me to do also, and this  I need to repent for and ask Gods forgiveness for.

The danger with throwing out careless insulting words is , that its like taking a feather pillow and  breaking it open in the wind.

It becomes quite difficult to pick up all the feathers once they have been thrown about like this.

The injury of an ill spoken word can run deep into the offended persons heart.

To  ever return from that and find 100% repair  is I think only possible with Gods help in that matter.

Much of my life. I have had bouts of anxiety and depression because of the unkind words that were spoken to me by someone I loved and cared for so much in my childhood. Like a broken record those hurtful words would come and play again in my mind and torture my soul bringing me into deep depression and anxiety. It  has taken the divine Love and healing of God to heal me from this. And I know it was God that removed this negative record playing of insulting words from my head.

My part in getting better through Christ Jesus was to let go and let God take over my pain and for me to do my part in forgiving.

Learning to forgive is a gift from God accessible to all through Mercy and Grace over our fellowman.

And to remember always, if God forgave us, as a free gift of grace we too have to practice the same with others.

 

 

Edited July 15, 2017 by 1to3

[missmuffet]

We should control the tongue. To keep it from evil. A Christian's speech should honor God.

[JTC]

5 hours ago, hmbld said:

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue” 

I am interested if anyone has something to say about the implications of this verse.

If you take it spiritually it means we can cause things to happen with our words. But in my experience God can over ride our words whenever He wants to. 

If we look at it more realistically, and especially if we consider when it was written, a king can have someone put to death just by giving the order. The king can likewise issue a decree that can save the life of a person who may even deserve death. 

But I think the writer is telling us to be careful with our words because our words carry much power. Many scriptures have more than 1 meaning and I think this one does.

[Guest]

18 minutes ago, JTC said:

If you take it spiritually it means we can cause things to happen with our words. But in my experience God can over ride our words whenever He wants to. 

If we look at it more realistically, and especially if we consider when it was written, a king can have someone put to death just by giving the order. The king can likewise issue a decree that can save the life of a person who may even deserve death. 

But I think the writer is telling us to be careful with our words because our words carry much power. Many scriptures have more than 1 meaning and I think this one does.

"Many scriptures have more than 1 meaning and I think this one does."

I must strongly disagree with your take on scripture. You wont find even one scripture than has multiple meanings!  Scripture has one objective meaning otherwise communication between the LORD and his saints would be a big  mess. God is not the author of confusion. Proper hermeneutics  need to be applied so that  "easy going subjectivism" is not applied.  The word is explained by the word meaning cross referencing is necessary at times. 

 

Blessings  

[Guest]

I second what Abby Joy has said to explain the particular scripture. I could not have said it better! 

 

Blessings

[Kevinw]

18 hours ago, hmbld said:

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue” 

I am interested if anyone has something to say about the implications of this verse.

Words are important. We should take care to speak good ones all the time. 

[Deborah_]

19 hours ago, hmbld said:

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue” 

I am interested if anyone has something to say about the implications of this verse.

This proverb comes from a culture in which there was no forensic science and the death penalty was prescribed for a number of offences. Everything hung on oral testimony.

Any witness who gave evidence in such a trial would have the life or death of the accused in the power of his tongue.