Dear sister,
Proverbs 15:4 says, “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” In Bible study last week we talked about what it means to be gentle. Another word for gentleness that you may also find in the Scripture is meekness. We discussed that meekness or gentleness is power under control. The tongue is a powerful device of the body. It holds both the power to kill and the power to give life. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” If we are to have a gentle tongue we must exercise control over its power.
Words can hurt—even when people don’t mean to hurt us with them we can still find ourselves deeply wounded by them. They are even more painful when the words come from the mouth of a beloved friend or family member. It can take a long time to heal from the emotional damage that is caused by careless speech.
For me, I can still remember the words that a close friend said to me one day while we were having coffee together. To this day they still hurt and to this day she is still unaware of the pain she caused in just one sentence of our conversation. It is in these moments of mournful remembrance that I am tempted to pity myself and tell myself, “I didn’t deserve that. Who does she think she is?” and then I catch myself. I’m not perfect. There have probably been numerous times when I have hurt others with my words without being aware of it. I simply cannot pass judgment on my friend without also passing judgment on myself.
Whatever our words have been in the past we must strive to speak with gentleness now and in the future. Proverbs 15 says the ‘gentle tongue is a tree of life.’ Imagine a prospering tree. It is big, strong and tall. Its leaves are green and vibrant and it stands firm through any storm. If we control the power of our tongue we can be a tree of life to others; we can bringing healing and give life. The alternative is brokenness and death.
What will your words be marked by?
Striving with you,
Kayla