No other organ of the body seems to parallel the tongue in significance. Families have been built and destroyed through the tongue. Nations have been brought to ruins through the tongue. People’s destinies have been shaped through the tongue. What more? Through the tongue, we have confessed and therefore obtained salvation. The tongue, and subsequently our speech, is extremely significant. So significant is our speech that the book of Proverbs is full of insights on this subject. Today’s text is one example of such insight.

Our passage elucidates the value of watching what we say. That we cannot merely talk because words are not mere words. Those who carefully guard their speech, the Bible says, preserve their lives. On the other hand, those who abandon this wisdom ruin their own lives. The sad thing is that most people rarely heed to the wisdom of this exhortation. We, many times, become fools by giving full vent to our emotions (Proverbs 29:11). We foolishly walk into a fight and invite beatings because of our words (Proverbs 18:6). We fail to realise that life and death lie in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). In short, we most times neglect the path of wisdom and choose the way of fools. If only we would heed to the warning of Jesus, _”I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”_(Matthew 12:36-37).

There is nothing like mere speech even when we merely speak. We therefore do well, like the Psalmist, to pray:

1. When you examine your speech, would you say that you exercise wisdom?