The Tongue (Part 3)

            The next few posts are going to be about the tongue.  GOD has been speaking a lot to me about it in the past week or so and I wanted to share with all of year everything I have learned.

The bible has a lot to say about tongues.    When you think about it, creation happened because GOD SPOKE it into existence.  The bible is called:  “The WORD of GOD.”    Words are powerful and the bible has warnings about staying away from gossip, slander, and hurtful words.  Rather, we should use our words to edify, to build up, and to encourage each other in the LORD.  

            I learned early in my teaching career that I have a very strong voice.  I can project it and it is a clear, pleasant tone.   I have been told I have a good speaking voice and I communicate well when I speak.    I can silence a room full of children with one simple sentence.    I have a good speaking voice and people want to listen to what I say just because of the way I speak.

            In Proverbs it states: “The tongue has the power of life and death.”  (Proverbs 18:21) .   I have found that I need to be very careful with my words because of my voice.  My tongue has the power to destroy someone with one short phrase.  I can crush spirits without even raising my voice.   This is the power of death.   My voice can do just the opposite- it can promote life.  I can encourage, and lift up the spirits of another person.  I have been known to encourage someone to the point of tears, as they lay their burdens onto my listening ear out of frustration.   “The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” (Proverbs 15:4).

I am always telling my students to use their words to “heal not hurt.”  Instead of yelling at my challenging students, I find it’s best to pull them aside privately and just talk to them.  Find out why they are acting the way they are.   My students respond better to softly spoken words filled with genuine care than yelling.    “A gentle answer turns away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1).  Perhaps that is why I can defuse tempers and the difficult students respond well to me.   I will hear stories about students flipping over desks and throwing books~  Those same kids would never act like that in my room. 

The tongue is a powerful thing.

~Sunny :D