Mensa Otabil - A Wholesome Tongue
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Proverbs 15, and we look at verse number 4: A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Words are powerful; they can both heal and cause harm, and we have to be very careful how we use the words of our mouth.
The passage calls something a wholesome tongue; that means words that are healthy or whole-words that bring goodness to us. It says that when our words are whole or wholesome, they are like a tree of life. A tree of life in the Bible is a tree that is well-nourished; its roots are deep, taking out nutrients through the roots and through the trunk, through the branches, and bearing good fruit. It says when a tongue is wholesome, when a person’s words are good, it’s like a tree of life; it makes things blossom, makes things good; it bears good fruit.
Everybody eats the benefit of those good words, and our words can heal our world. They can heal our families; our words can create environments of peace, thriving environments in our classrooms, in our homes, in our offices. Words can be wholesome, and a wholesome word must come from a whole person. If a person doesn’t feel whole, then they will not be able to speak wholesome words. At the end of it, wholesome words must be rooted in the word of God. The word of God dwelling in us richly feeds our words so that the words of our mouth bring goodness to people. Then the passage talks about the contrast: the perverse tongue.
Perverse tongue’s words that are perverse-perverse simply means crisscrossing. They are not whole; they are not well-rounded; they are jagged; they are piercing; they’re not together. Sometimes we speak words like that, and they are very nasty and brutish, and it says that those words break the spirit. Break the spirit-words can break people. Our world is full of so many broken people, and they were broken by words. Sometimes, unfortunately, the words of parents can break their children. The sad thing is that parents break their children with words, and unfortunately, those children become broken people who become parents and also use their words to break their children.
So a cycle is developed, and the root is one parent who broke his children with his words. Sometimes, you know, even in marriage, a husband can break his wife with words, and a wife can break the husband with words. There are many broken marriages, and the source of it is a perverse tongue-people who use words to destroy one another. Many of life’s problems can be solved if we can have wholesome tongues. Many marriage problems can be solved if we can have wholesome tongues. Many family problems with children can be solved if we have wholesome tongues, and that’s what Proverbs is teaching us.
We can either break the spirit of people or be a tree of life, and I don’t know about you- a tree of life is better than a broken spirit. But all of that comes from the words we speak; that means we must be mindful of what we say. Think about them; take a deep breath. If it’s a harsh word, don’t say it for that moment. Walk away; you can solve that problem another way the next time. But if you allow the perverseness of words to come out of your mouth, you will destroy your marriage, destroy your children, destroy relationships, and have a very, very sad life. May the Lord help us to have a wholesome tongue.
Let’s pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, teach me how to speak. Let my words bring life and healing to my world. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.