Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Your speech will either help or hurt you (Pr 10:14; 12:14; 13:2-3; 18:6-7,23). If you are older, it already has! Many have ruined their lives by not ruling their mouths. Others have been exalted for their kind and wise tongues. Your speech will bring either blessing or cursing on you from both God and men, in both time and eternity. Do you love good speech or bad speech? Your future will be impacted heavily by your choice and habit. A tongue can kill or save others’ lives. A false witness can cause the death of an innocent man, or a comforter can restore a dejected man by an uplifting word. A slanderer can kill the reputation of a good man, or a wise counselor can guide a young man through the dangers of youth. A seducing woman can ruin a man’s life, or a godly mother can teach her children the truth. A tongue definitely affects others, but that is not the lesson here. The tongue also affects speakers. The death and life in the power of the tongue are the effects of your speech on yourself. You learn this by the second clause, which teaches that those loving their use of the tongue will eat either the fruit of death or life. You also know this by the context, for the previous proverb reads, “A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled” (Pr 18:20). Consider the love of speech, which is a key in this proverb. Even evil men can say good things when it is to their greedy purposes to do so, and good men slip from time to time and say things they should not (Pr 23:6-8; Eccl 10:1). But only good men truly love good speech, and only evil men truly love evil speech. The law of the proverb is based on what kind of speech you love – the speech you commit your heart, mouth, and habits toward.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 12:27:34 +0000
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