Keep Your Tongue from Evil! Psalm 34:13 "Words break no bones, but they can break hearts!

" "Anger makes your mouth work faster than your mind!" "Talk is cheap...mostly because the supply is greater than the demand!" "It often shows a fine command of language to say nothing!" "Learn to speak kind words...nobody resents them!" "Gossip: Letting the 'chat' out of the bag!" AEnrich someone?s life today with a warm word of praise. Both of you will be the better for it." Idle Talk: Let?s first look at the definitions of "idle" and "talk" in Webster?s Dictionary : idle--unprofitable, not tending to edification; talk--to speak. Under the definition of idle, Mr. Noah Webster (in the 1828 Dictionary) quotes from the Bible, in the book of Matthew, "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgement." We need to be careful when we are sitting idle, doing nothing, with our friends or family, that we do not engage in idle talk! Your excuse may be, "we had nothing else to talk about"--look to the Bible when you have nothing to talk about. You can always discuss a Bible passage or some of your beliefs. That is much more profitable than talking about others. "The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life...Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning..." -Proverbs 10:11&13 "One of the first things which a physician says to his patient is ?Let me see your TONGUE.? A spiritual advisor might do the same." -N. Adams "In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing, so that no one can speak a word of blame against you..." -Philippians 2:14-15 "The only sharp-edged tool that gets sharper with use is the tongue." "You can speak ?to the point? without being sharp." "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." -Proverbs 12:18 "Many things are opened by mistake, but none so frequently as the mouth." "Time and words cannot be recalled." "A word spoken is like a sparrow--once it flies out, you can?t catch it!" "Words--kind or cruel--while easy to speak, have effects that will last forever.

" "They are easily, thoughtlessly said, yet hard words can enter the heart and lie there as heavy as lead." "Wisdom is knowing when to speak your mind, and when to mind your speech." "I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth?" -Psalms 39:1 Gossip Webster has a few different definitions for "gossip" in his 1828 Dictionary: 1. An idle tattler; 2. Mere tattle, idle talk; to run about and tattle, to tell idle tales. With those definitions, I don?t think any of us want to be a gossip! ! Please, be very careful what you say! Gossip hurts so many people, every day, because someone didn?t think before they spoke! Before you say anything, always think of the person you are talking about. If they were standing right there with you, would you say what you were going to say? Have you ever played the game "telephone" or "gossip"? It is where everyone sits in a gets what what circle, one person whispers something to the person next to her, and it passed around to everyone. Then when the last person hears it she tells she thinks she heard, and most of the time it is completely different from it really was! That shows how something gets changed as it goes from person

to person. You may just say that your sister and her friend were having a slight disagreement, but a few people down the line may think that your sister and her friend had a terrible fight and refuse to talk to each other ever again! So, please be very careful what you say! "She who covers an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends." -Proverbs 17:9 "Never report what may hurt another, unless it be a greater hurt to some other to conceal it." -William Penn "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up..." -Ephesians 4:29 "A gossip is one who suffers from acute indiscretion!" "Speak only well of people and you need never whisper." "When will talkers refrain from evil-speaking? When listeners refrain from evilhearing!" "Gossip--like mud--can be wiped off, but it leaves a smear!" "It is better to bite your tongue than to let it bite someone else." "Gossip is remembered long after good deeds are forgotten." "What should not be heard by little ears should not be said by big mouths!"

"If anyone considers herself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on her tongue, she deceives herself and her religion is worthless." -James 1:26 Silence: Webster defines "silence" as: speaking little; not inclined to much talking; still; not mentioning; not proclaiming. Our Lord and Savior tells us, "Be still, and know that I am God." Let?s try some silence once in a while! It would be good for us, and it?s definitely much better to hold your tongue than to talk about something you shouldn?t have. "There is a time for everything...a time to be silent and a time to speak." Ecclesiates 3:1&7 "If you are faithful in keeping silent when it is not necessary to speak, God will preserve you from evil when it is right for you to talk." -Francois Fenelon "A good word is an easy obligation, but not to speak ill requires only our silence." -John Tillotson "It is easier to leave angry words unspoken than to mend a heart those words have broken." "Silence is one of the great acts of conversation. There is not only an art, but an eloquence to it." -Cicero "Be still and know that I am God." -Psalm 46:10 "Diplomacy is thinking twice before saying nothing." "When I want to speak, let me think first: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? If not, let it be left unsaid." -Maltbie D. Babcock "Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil..." -Psalm 141:3 "Even a fish wouldn?t get in trouble if he kept his mouth shut!" "In an argument, the best weapon to hold is your tongue!" "I have made a pact with my tongue, not to speak when my heart is disturbed." -F rancis de Sales "...but he who holds his tongue is wise." -Proverbs 10:19 Encouragement Once again we will turn to Webster?s 1828 Dictionary for our definition: The act of giving courage, or confidence of success. (i.e. The praise of good men serves as an encouragement to virtue and heroism.) Sometimes a little encouragement is all someone needs to keep on. It?s much

better to encourage than to discourage! When you can think of something mean or spiteful to say, instead, bite your tongue and do some encouraging! "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." -Psalm 19:14 "Speak kind words and you will hear echoes." "One is often sorry for saying a harsh word, but will never regret saying a kind one." "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." -Proverbs 15:1 "The music that can deepest reach--and cure all ill--is cordial speech." -Emerso n "The tongue that brings healing is the tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit." -Proverbs 15:4 "God has given us tongues that we may say something pleasant to our fellow men." -Heinrich Heine "Leave your home with loving words. You may not return." "A compliment is verbal sunshine!" "An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up." -Proverbs 12:25 Speaking Truth Webster defines "truth" as: purity from falsehood; exactness; real fact; real state of things. In all our speech, we need to remember to speak truth! "Truth stands the test of time; lies are soon exposed." -Proverbs 12:19 "Always tell the truth. Then you don?t have to worry about what you said last." -Robert A. Cook "Say what you need to say, not what you think you should. The truth is better than make-believe any day." "The truth is like a rubber band--if you stretch it too far, it?s not good for anything." "It is more from carelessness about the truth than from intentional lying that there is so much falsehood in the world." -Samuel Johnson "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body." -Ephesians 4:25 "One thing you can give--and still keep--is your word." -Luke 12:2&3 "Words have power...Power to encourage and power to discourage."

"A gossip is a fool with a keen sense of rumor." "The tongue of the wise brings healing." -Proverbs 12:18 "A lie will travel a thousand miles while truth is putting on its boots." ASwallowing angry words is much better than having to eat them!"