The Power Of The Tongue

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With our tongues, we boast great things.  The tongue is like a two-edged sword.  With it, we speak life, or we speak death.  With it, we encourage or we discourage. If we could only control our tongues.

Wars have been won and wars have been lost with a simple spoken word. Kings have been crowned, and Kings have fallen because of their words. Wonderful relationships have begun, and wonderful relationships have been destroyed because of words.

How do we control this little thing that causes such stress in our lives?

  • Learn to think before you speak.  How many times I have put my foot in my mouth because I did not think first.
  • Learn to speak positive things.  If you have a tendency to be negative, then seek to change your attitudes.  That starts with having a thankful attitude.  Being thankful will help you be more positive about life.
  • If you have a gut check about something you are tempted to say, don’t say it.  Trust your instincts.  A quick response could undo your relationships.
  • Don’t be a gossip.  Learn to keep a confidence.  Talking about other people behind their backs eventually gets back to them.  That destroys your relationship with them and lowers you in the eyes of others.
  • Learn to listen…truly listen to others.  Be intent on listening.  Make that your priority in communications.  If you do that alone, you will eliminate a lot of problems for you and for others.

My hope is that we learn to control our tongues and use them to bless and not curse, to edify and not destroy, to love and not hate.  My prayer is that we all hear more and speak less.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

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