sinful tongue

In our everyday life, we can’t help and avoid using our tongue in speaking, and sometimes we use it to hurt, lie, flatter, boast, backbite and etc. I do admit I have sinned and misuse my tongue to the extent of hurting other people, I am not perfect and I have sinned against God. I admit I had a very bad temper before and my father always stated to me “Think twice before you speak once,” I have learned from him and it did do some good things on me and in my life. As what I have learned from the Bible (James 3: 7-8) “For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” It was also indicated in the Bible that a person’s character can be judged by the way they use their tongue. I do believe in proverbs and learnings from the Bible but you cannot judge the person why he is like that because every person has a story behind it. If you think about it, if you let loose of your tongue and do misuse it, it can cause damage to others and it will hurt them. It is better to tame your tongue from saying such hurting words and think what you say first so as not to hurt anyone.

There are different kinds of tongues in the Bible:

FLATTERING TONGUE (Psalm 5:9)
“For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.”

PROUD TONGUE (Psalm 12:3-4)
“The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?”

LYING TONGUE (Psalm 109:2; Prov. 6:17)
“For they have opened the wicked and deceitful mouth against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.”
“Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood”

DECEITFUL TONGUE (Psalm 120:2)
“Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.”

PERVERTED TONGUE (Prov. 10:31; 17:20)
“The mouth of the righteous flows with wisdom, but the perverted tongue will be cut out.”
“He who has a crooked mind finds no good, and he who is perverted in his language falls into evil.”

SOOTHING TONGUE (Prov. 15:4)
“To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion”

HEALING TONGUE (Prov. 12:18)
“There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, But the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

DESTRUCTIVE TONGUE (Prov. 17:4)
“An evildoer listens to wicked lips; A liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.”

MISCHIEVOUS AND WICKED TONGUE (Psalm 10:7)
“His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression; Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.”

SOFT TONGUE (Prov. 25:15)
“By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded, And a soft tongue breaks the bone.”

BACKBITING TONGUE (Prov. 25:23)
“The north wind brings forth rain, And a backbiting tongue, an angry countenance.”

Nowadays people curse, mock and lie when face with their adversary/enemies, thus provoking that person into anger and not resolving the problem. It is better to watch our tongue, control and tame it to avoid hurting people. Thus listening is better than talking nonsense words, if you want to talk, talk with some sense and respect to whom you are talking to. Using profane and vulgar words should be minimize at all cost, at what James 3:6 stated “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”

Taming the tongue itself is hard, but by practicing little by little we might be able to have a better personality and peaceful society. We should set an example to teenagers and to others, we don’t do it by just talking but through our actions. Start today and remember what 1 Peter 3:9-11 “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.”