Joel M Bradshaw

1A gentle answer turns away wrath,  but a harsh word stirs up anger.

2The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,  but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.

3The eyes of the LORD are in every place,  observing the evil and the good.

4A soothing tongue is a tree of life,  but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.–Proverbs 15

Take a moment this morning and take stock of your speech. Start with verse 3 above. God sees both your inside and your outside. He observes what you are able to hide from others. He knows your motivations. So let’s just take these little proverbs seriously for a moment.

1. How you speak to others matters. Harsh, selfish anger is either a fruit on your tree or kindness and gentleness are. How are you most of the time?
2. What you speak to others matters. Your words will either be a blessing to others, building them up, or foolish words that add nothing of value to a conversation. Not everything has to be serious all the time, but which of these two describe you most?

..but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. (James 3:8-10)

You are either a soother or a crusher with your words. I have had to work on my speech mightily in my life. I used to have a filthy mouth full of sarcasm. And today I use my words to counsel others. A change had to happen in me. I had to take these verses seriously. I have to remain intentional about the HOW and the WHAT. I am either honoring God with my speech or I am not. I am either a blessing to others or I am not. And when not, I have to be humble and ask forgiveness. This has changed my marriage and my parenting in amazing ways. How would others describe you with the verses above?–JMB