INTRODUCTION

The tongue is perhaps the most dangerous weapon possessed by man (Job 5:21Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
See All...; Psalm 57:4My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
See All...; Psalm 64:3Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:
See All...; Psalm 140:3They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips. Selah.
See All...). It can and has been used to wound, deceive, and corrupt. Unfortunately, the world most often uses the tongue for evil, but it should not be so with the saints of God. Believers should keep their tongues from evil (Psalm 34:13Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
See All...). They should "Let all . . . evil speaking" "be put away from" them (Ephesians 4:31Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
See All...), instead speaking "that which is good to the use of edifying" (Ephesians 4:29Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
See All...). As ambassadors for Christ, it is imperative that believers speak only those things which are righteous and becoming of the gospel of Christ.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

• (For smaller children) Psalm 10:7His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
  See All... tells how the wicked speak. Because Christians can (but should not) speak like this, we have several warnings (Colossians 3:8But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
  See All...; Titus 3:2To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
  See All...; James 3:8-10 [8] But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. [9] Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. [10] Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
  See All...; 1 Peter 2:1Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, all evil speakings,
  See All...). Our words should help others (Proverbs 16:24Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
  See All...; Proverbs 25:11A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
  See All...; Isaiah 50:4The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
  See All...).
• What are some ways in which Christians ought to be different from the world in their speech? Are you striving to be different in these areas?
• What are you saying to help people draw closer to the Lord? What kind of things are you saying that might hinder others from coming to Christ?

PRAYER NEEDS

• Ask the Lord to keep your tongue from evil.
• Ask God to show you when your words are wounding others.

HYMN

Take My Life, and Let It Be

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