Proverbs 18:21
The tongue has the power of life and death.
(GNT) What you say can preserve (give) life or destroy it.
Proverbs 12:18
The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Ecclesiastes 5:2
Let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.
For God is in heaven, and you on earth;
Therefore let your words be few.
Ecclesiastes 6:11 (NIV)
The more the words, the less the meaning...
Luke 12:2-3
There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.
Colossians 4:6
(KJV) Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
(NLT) Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.
James 1:19 (Amplified)
Quick to listen, (quick to think), slow to anger and slow to speak.
D. Edmond Hiebert, Professor Emeritus of New Testament, Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary
"Slow to speak" does not mean slowness in speaking but is a call for restraint upon hasty and ill-considered reactions to what is heard. It would allow time for a fuller apprehension and thoughtful evaluation of what had been heard. It offered a valuable safeguard against shallow, immature, and immoderate reactions. A continual talker cannot hear what anyone else says and by the same token will not hear when God speaks to him.
James 1:26 (NIV)
Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.
William Perkins A Direction For The Government Of The Tongue According To God’s Word
What a shame is it, that men with the same tongue wherewith they confess the faith and religion of Christ, should by vain and ungodly speech utterly deny the power thereof.
Roman Breviary, 1763
We beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thou wouldest keep our tongues from evil, and our lips from speaking guile; that, as Thy holy angels ever sing Thy praises in heaven, so with our tongues may we at all times glorify Thee on earth.
C.H. Spurgeon “The Swiftly Running Word”
https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/the-swiftly-running-word/#flipbook/
More of a man is seen in his words than in anything else belonging to him.
You may look into his face and be mistaken. You may visit his house and not discover him. You may scan his business and misunderstand him. But if you hear his daily conversation, you shall soon know him! The heart babbles out its secrets when the tongue is in motion. As the full bucket betrays the water of the well, so is a man discerned by his speech.
The Treasure of David on Psalm 116:11
We may repent of our words, but we cannot so recall them as to undo the mischief they have done.
Alexander Smellie In the Hour of Silence: A Book of Daily Meditations for a Year, 1899
Proverbs 15:4 (HCSB) The tongue that heals is a tree of life, but a devious tongue breaks the spirit.
How many are the sins of the tongue—how many, and how deadly! From anger, from slander, from folly, from untruthfulness, from untender judgments, from impure and defiling speech, good Lord, deliver me.
There is, St. Paul says, a foolish talking which is not convenient (Ephesians 5:4). My conversation may be insipid, vain, unprofitable, trivial, and idle. It may do no good to anyone. 1t may kindle no consoling, strengthening, inspiring thought. It is not seasoned with the salt of grace. It has not the earnestness and the spiritual quality which befit the Christian.
There is, St. Paul says again, a filthy communication which should never proceed from a disciple’s mouth (Colossians 3:8). It ministers to wantonness. It is suggestive of what is evil and unholy. It paints sin in gay and brilliant and enticing colors, so that its real ugliness is not recognized. All such speech I must abhor. I must not listen to it in others, nor tolerate it in myself.
There is, St. Paul says once more, a jesting which is not becoming in the believer and the saint. In whatever pleasantry and humor I may allow myself, I must ever be refined, noble-hearted, tender. There is a persiflage (light and slightly contemptuous mockery), a wit, a banter, a sarcasm, which is neither high-minded nor kind. It is enlisted in the service of sin and not in that of Christ.
A.B. Simpson
A man's conversation is the real test of his character and if any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain (James 1:26). An unbridled tongue is a sure sign of an unsanctified spirit. On the other hand, if any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body (James 3:2). It is a sign that he is under the government of his conscience, his will and the Holy Spirit. This is a most heart-searching test.
The true Christian is righteous in his ways and upright in his words. His deeds appeal to men; and in speech he is looking up, for God is listening. His words are sent upward and recorded. I can almost imagine that the beautiful blue sky over our heads, seemingly so transparent, is like a wax tablet with a finely sensitive surface which receives an impression of every word we speak, and that these tablets are then hardened and preserved for the eternal judgment. We should speak with our eyes ever upward, never forgetting that we shall some day meet the words that we have spoken.
Peter Marshall, Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, in The Prayers of Peter Marshall, 1954
I need Thee, O Lord, for a curb on my tongue; when I am tempted to making carping criticisms and cruel judgements, keep me from speaking barbed words that hurt, and in which I find perverted satisfaction. Keep me from unkind words and from unkind silences. Restrain my judgements. Make my criticisms kind, generous, and constructive. Make me sweet inside, that I may be gentle with other people, gentle in the things I say, kind in what I do. Create in me that warmth of mercy that shall enable others to find Thy strength for their weakness, Thy peace for their strife, Thy joy for their sorrow, Thy love for their hatred, Thy compassion for their weakness.
A.W. Tozer Rut, Rot or Revival
One of the most shocking things in the church is the dirty-mouthed Christian who always walks on the borderline. There is no place for borderline stories that embarass some people, and there is nothng about sex or the human body that is funny if your mind is clean. There was once a gathering of officers, and George Washington was present in the room. One of the young officers began to think about a dirty story that he wanted to tell, and he got a smirk on his face. He looked around and said, "I"m thinking of a story. I guess there are no ladies present." Washington straightened up and said, "No, young man, but there are gentlemen." The young officer shut his mouth and kept the dirty story inside his dirty head and heart. Anything you could not tell with Jesus present, do not tell. Anything you could not laugh at were Jesus present, do not laugh at.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
“As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7) You can always tell what a man’s philosophy of life is by the way in which he lives and by the way he reacts to the things that are happening round about him. That is why a time of crisis always sifts people. We always betray where we stand by what we say.
You remember our Lord said on one occasion that we shall be judged by every idle word we utter. (Matthew 12:36) We proclaim a great deal about ourselves as Christians by our ordinary remarks and by our ordinary comments about life. Our view of life comes out in our every expression.
Francis de Sales
The best remedy I know against sudden fits of impatience is a silence that is gentle and without malice. However little one says, pride always comes into it, and one says things that plunge the heart into grief for a whole day after. When one is silent and smiles in a friendly manner, the storm passes over; one smothers one's temper and indiscretion, and so enjoys pure and lasting happiness.
Alan Redpath
T - Is it true?
H - Is it helpful?
I - Is it inspiring (encouraging)?
N - Is it necessary?
K - Is it kind?
If what I am about to say does not pass those tests, I will keep my mouth shut!
Charles Kingsley Village Sermons, 1848
A difference in words is a very awful and important difference; a difference in words is a difference in things. Words are very awful and wonderful things, for they come from the most awful and wonderful of all beings, Jesus Christ, THE Word. He puts words into men’s minds. He made all things, and He made words to express those things. And woe to those who use the wrong words about anything.
Your words can be loving, helpful and healing. Choose them wisely.