Power Of The Tongue : Gossip Hurts

A Good Friend, A Bad Enemy

Hubs got a new toy: a gas blowtorch that kills weeds. Oh, he dressed it up in environmentally friendly language—good for the earth, no chemicals leaching into the stream that leads to the Sound, yada yada. But I saw the gleam in his eye when he headed out to burn the weeds. Our son, for the first time ever, jockeyed to do yard work.

Hubs went up and down the driveway, the sides of which were lined with plants we wanted, not ones we wanted to get rid of. Although he was careful, he singed a few of the keepers. It took time, practice, and control to get rid of the weeds that were choking the desirable plants. What was left, finally, were the keepers: the plants that brought life and health and beauty.

Our tongues are like blowtorches—good friends, bad enemies. We can use them to do good or we can use them to work evil, and sometimes we use them to do both.
James admonishes, “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be” (3:10).

A little gossip can poison a pleasant conversation among friends. A tacked-on criticism can completely undermine a compliment. A lie can decimate, perhaps forever, a previously good reputation. The desire to destroy another through words will, in fact, burn up one’s own life.

Each time I open my mouth and “turn on the gas,” I have the potential to hurt or to help. Whom can I speak life to today?

The tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.

James 3:5, NLT