👉🏼 (Reading: Psalm 15:1-5)
📜 ""Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbours or speak evil of their friends.""
Psalm 15:2 (NLT)
📋 Our tongues are very capable of doing much evil to others.
The Apostle James declares: "The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body… It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison" (James 3:6, 8).
Knowing how much harm the tongue can do to us and to others, the Psalmist cautions us: "Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies" (Psalm 34:12-13).
As God's people, we need to watch what we say with our tongues; we must use them for good, not for evil. It is ungodly to speak evil of others. We ought to refuse to gossip or spread rumours about others. It is wrong to discredit or defame our neighbours.
Similarly, it is not right to disgrace or lower others by what we say to them. In order to discipline our tongues, it is wise for us to heed the admonition in Ephesians 4:29: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
Gossip, rumour, slander, insult, lies are all forms of unwholesome talk that are not proper for God's holy people.
Do you watch what your tongue says about or to others?
🔑 Key Lesson: Our tongues are capable of doing evil to others.
🛐 Meditation and Prayer: Lord, empower me to control what I say with my tongue.
📚 Further Reading: James 3:2-12.
◼️The Bible in One Year: 2 Kings 4-5.