Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
The tongue holds power to bring death or life through the effects of words on others and their relationships. Those who love the tongue will eat its fruit, meaning they will experience the consequences of the words they speak.
Words reveal the condition of the heart, and a heart unchanged by Christ's transforming grace produces un-Christlike words and conduct that keep a person from seeing the kingdom of God. The power of speech is a gift from God that has been abused and must be converted and sanctified so it can be used to glorify Him.
Death-dealing speech includes misrepresenting motives, injuring a reputation, and assailing character, which cause agony and ruin. Death-dealing speech also includes backbiting, falsehood, deceptive praise, evasions, exaggerations, and dishonest claims, which wound and ruin others, while truthful speech avoids these harms. The tongue's power carries moral weight: those who use it to harm others face God's judgment, while a citizen of Zion speaks truthfully and does not slander a neighbor.
The verse warns against harmful speech and calls for restrained words used for good and for learning to use sanctified speech to glorify God. Children and young people must be taught that harmful speech is a serious wrong.
The tongue holds power to bring death or life through the effects of words on others and their relationships. Those who love the tongue will eat its fruit, meaning they will experience the consequences of the words they speak.
Words reveal the condition of the heart, and a heart unchanged by Christ's transforming grace produces un-Christlike words and conduct that keep a person from seeing the kingdom of God. The power of speech is a gift from God that has been abused and must be converted and sanctified so it can be used to glorify Him.
Death-dealing speech includes misrepresenting motives, injuring a reputation, and assailing character, which cause agony and ruin. Death-dealing speech also includes backbiting, falsehood, deceptive praise, evasions, exaggerations, and dishonest claims, which wound and ruin others, while truthful speech avoids these harms. The tongue's power carries moral weight: those who use it to harm others face God's judgment, while a citizen of Zion speaks truthfully and does not slander a neighbor.
The verse warns against harmful speech and calls for restrained words used for good and for learning to use sanctified speech to glorify God. Children and young people must be taught that harmful speech is a serious wrong.