Keep Your Tongue from Evil
Our tongue can get us into a lot of trouble. Just think of the times that you have hurt others by what you said. Also, many of us are carrying scars caused by the caustic words of other people. We are seldom hurt by what we do not say, but our words can hurt others deeply. David had learned this truth from the Lord, so he gave us a very important admonition about our speech. (Psalm 34:13) I would urge all of us to heed these words from the Lord.
The tongue is a fire. That is what James said in the New Testament book God inspired him to write. Just like a fire the tongue has to be "kept." If we do not keep our tongue, it will rage out of control and do damage to others. This is especially true if we do not keep our tongues from evil. Of course, our tongue says what is in our heart so we must keep our hearts from evil things to keep our tongues. Also, James told us that no person can tame the tongue only God can do that, so we must depend on the power of God to keep our tongue from evil.
Then, David's admonition is to keep our lips from speaking deceit. Of course, that means we must not say anything that is not true or that misleads another person. We may speak the truth, but we may do it in a way that leads them to a certain conclusion, which is good for us, or we may only tell them part of the truth to fool them. Any way that we deceive others with our words is a terrible sin. Jesus is truth, and He expects all of His children to speak the truth in love all of the time.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 35-37.
The tongue is a fire. That is what James said in the New Testament book God inspired him to write. Just like a fire the tongue has to be "kept." If we do not keep our tongue, it will rage out of control and do damage to others. This is especially true if we do not keep our tongues from evil. Of course, our tongue says what is in our heart so we must keep our hearts from evil things to keep our tongues. Also, James told us that no person can tame the tongue only God can do that, so we must depend on the power of God to keep our tongue from evil.
Then, David's admonition is to keep our lips from speaking deceit. Of course, that means we must not say anything that is not true or that misleads another person. We may speak the truth, but we may do it in a way that leads them to a certain conclusion, which is good for us, or we may only tell them part of the truth to fool them. Any way that we deceive others with our words is a terrible sin. Jesus is truth, and He expects all of His children to speak the truth in love all of the time.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 35-37.