How Tame is Your Tongue?

How Tame is Your Tongue


Do you know when to rebuke or when to be silent? When you do know you should be silent, do you rebuke anyway? When you know you should rebuke, can you will your tongue to speak out even if it could cause conflict? The Lord’s Truth is not always popular sometimes even among fellow believers. “For the word of God is living and powerful, ad sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and morrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

Be one who people can rely on to give wise truth. Do not be one with a flattering tongue but one who breathes God’s love and truth. “He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor than he who has a flattering tongue.” Proverbs 28:23 Every conversation you have should be being applied to your knowledge of scripture. Do comfort your loved ones but do it in truth. Seek God’s guidance and pray for his wisdom. If you don’t know what to say or if you don’t know the answer, be silent and listen. Let them know you will pray for them and make sure you follow through. Get back to them if the Holy Spirit leads you to a passage that can be applied to that person’s circumstances.

What an amazing comfort that is to know that the answers to all we face is given to us in scripture. It isn’t up to us to bring comfort and to say the perfect thing, Jesus has taken care of all that for us. Do not counsel with your own wisdom. We aren’t wise but the Father is. Let your way of comfort be that all of the answers we seek are in the Holy Bible and if we surrender all of our problems there is peace and joy in our Father’s everlasting love.

What if a fellow believer is not asking for advice but is close to you and you witness ways that he or she is slipping away from God’s doctrine. If you are bringing matters to light in the love of Christ than you are living out God’s word. 2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season; Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and teaching. In no way should your offering correction be for any kind of personal gain, not pride, greed, or self-righteousness. 1 John 3:18 let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

We have no control over how our rebuke is received. That is up to our friend whom we are speaking. Proverbs 15:31-32 The ear that hears the rebukes of life will abide among the wise. He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.

What kind of friend are you? Are you a flatterer or do you speak God’s truth even if you may lose a friend? Is the loss of a friendship worth an opportunity to help a friend grow spiritually? Have you taken heed to rebuke or been angered by somebody bringing a shortfall to light? Do you need to rethink a circumstance where somebody brought you to anger when they were only presenting the truth? Maybe you weren’t angry with that person but at yourself.