The Journey Continues: The power of the tongue
From my journey long ago while serving on the faculty/staff of the United States Army Institute for Military Assistance at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and at USMA, West Point, New York, I attended lectures on human relations and equality.
One speaker was Professor Robert L. Humphrey of the American Institutes for Research, Washington D.C.
His central thesis was respect for words and their power.
He shared this advice learned from speakers from developing nations:
“You Americans have this concept that you can say anything you want to each other, and it shouldn’t bother you. You say, ‘sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.’ Well, words hurt us.
“Our concept is in our saying: ‘The cut of a knife will heal quickly, but the cut of a word will last forever.’
You just keep cutting us and cutting us, and someday it’s going to turn sour on you.
Most important, don’t consider our lives less important than yours. Respect our lives’
Once spoken, our words can’t be taken back, and they either offer encouragement or do damage.”
Listening to Professor Humphrey, I understood the importance of controlling my tongue – especially as a follower of Jesus.
And very recently at The Baptist News Global website, I read an opinion piece by Nola Lozano which had the same theme.
“The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”
James 3:6 NRSV:
“Death and Life are in the power of the tongue.”
Proverbs 18:2 NRSV
She continued, “positive words are like a tree of life, a honeycomb, salt, or apples of gold that bring healing, edification, benefits, grace and life. Negative words are like harmful swords or fires that destroy life and bring death.
The use of words is important for any person, but especially for those who hold positions of authority, and have the possibility of tearing down or building up a person’s life. May God help us to be careful with our words.
They can be a source of life or death for another person.”
Lozano ended her opinion piece with, “I can only imagine how many dreams and lives of minority high school students have been shattered by the words of careless teachers and counselors who have damned them to a life of underachievement and poverty.”
By our words, do people perceive that we respect him or her? We should never doubt or underestimate the power of the tiny tongue; it has both spiritual and eternal consequences. The tongue has awesome power for good because it can proclaim the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.
