Uni-verse 125-10,000

Uni-verse 125/10,000 For better through verse Proverbs 15 v 4

Pro 15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

A tongue that is disciplined and controlled by the Holy Spirit is a fruitful tree. Almost all the fruits of the Spirit can be perceived by the way we use our tongue. If we listen to ourselves or others for a couple of days, by observing the speech we can discover the underlying patterns- whether it is marked by love,joy, peace, patience,kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, self control and wisdom. A wholesome tongue is one that manifests all these qualities on a day to day basis. In order to undertake this exercise of speech observation, we must quieten ourselves and listen to the words that fly off human tongues and discern the spirit or attitude behind the words.

A wholesome tongue should give appreciation where appreciation is due, correction where correction is due, understanding where understanding is needed and backed by love at all times. It is a tree of life as it is by virtue of the tongue that people are led to Jesus- the source of eternal life. The highest and best use of the tongue is in sharing the gospel and in building up believers or edifying the body of Christ. The Psalmist says that in order to offer praise and to glorify God,we must order our conversation aright or that we must command or arrange our speech

Often, when we are born again our tongue is not " born again". Old habits both die hard and hardly die and we continue to use our tongues to convey bitterness, sarcasm, vulgarity, to speak lies and to hurt the feelings of others. This causes a breach or disruption or imbalance in our spiritual growth. Instead, we must progressively yield our tongues to the control and direction of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit often manifests Himself as " tongues of fire" - this is an indication that the Lord wants to transform our tongues into a life-giving fire that brings warmth, comfort and strength to those who shiver in the darkness of sin,sorrow and misery. Our mouth speaks what our heart is full of. Therefore, we must get rid of all evil and malice from our hearts and instead fill it with treasures from the Word of God. Sound speech patterns are referred to in the book of Proverbs as " apples of gold in settings of silver." The world says that silence is golden and speech is silver. But, the Word of God says that an apt word is like gold while silence is likened to silver. We must shape or forge precious golden words in furnaces of silver or backgrounds of silence.


Prateep V Philip