‘Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Ps.141:3).
An essential part of getting dominion in our lives involves managing the tongue!
The Apostle James describes the tongue as a small rudder capable of guiding big ships…
Yet warns that, though small, can set a whole forest ablaze (Jas. 3:4-5).
The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about the tongue’s power…
….revealing its capacity to build up and tear down.
Note well…
“A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit” (Pr. 15:4).
“The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things” (Pr.15:28).
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits” (Pr.18:21).
Ultimately…
Managing the tongue is a matter of the heart.
As Jesus put it… for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Lk.6:45).
This shows how we need a constant supply of God’s grace to become good tongue managers…
As well as diligence in watching over what fills our hearts.
So with this in mind…
May God help us become skillful operators of our tongues…
So we would use them wisely to increase His gracious rule wherever we have influence.
Remembering too…
Sometimes NOT using our tongues at all is a prudent option.
As there is “A time to be silent and a time to speak” (Ecc.3:7).
Lord, give us what we need to build someone or something up today.
“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” (Eph.4:29).
