Reading the news and listening to so many disasters happening around us, reminded me once again of a topic which we have more than often heard, read and spoken about. However, it is a matter of critical importance in living everyday life and in fact, it is a matter of life and death.
Proverbs 18:21 says: “The tongue has the power of life and death and those who love it, will eat its fruit.” Not being in Christ, this Word might not be important to you, but for those who are in Christ and who have chosen life, it is critical to speak life and not death. Therefore, it is important for us to continually pray and ask the Holy Spirit to bless and take control of our hearts, minds, thoughts, actions and words. God has also given us the Bible, as our tool, to ensure that we are equipped with the right armour to face life in this everyday challenging world. It is thus critical that we daily feed on God’s Word, studying, understanding and implementing it, to ensure that when we are faced with whatever challenge, the first thing that comes out, will be Godly and therefore speaking life.
Let us use some everyday examples of life, to demonstrate what I am saying. Driving in the car and someone pushes you off the road, you calmly let them do as they please and never get angry. Correct? Well, if that is you, then well done! However, the truth is that many people, if not most, do not react like that. We tend to get really upset, honking, pointing fingers and shout, not to mention that sometimes, we say things like the person is an idiot or stupid etc. Yes, it is a fact that the person behaved irresponsibly and endangered others’ lives, whilst breaking the rules of the road.
However, there are ways to deal with such behaviour. Off course you should honk to alert the driver of to the possible dangers but then keep your cool. If the driver persists, you can report him/her to the police. Avoid wasting your energy on crossing the line yourself, ending up in judgement and cursing. Remember, for a time after the incident, you are still angry, with high blood pressure and the other person simply drove off, forgetting about the incident. Rather use the time to bless the person instead of cursing. I know it sounds ideal and yes, it is not easy, but it is possible (Philippians 4:13). You have that one moment in that specific situation with that specific person, to either speak life or death, with the choice being yours.
We often do not realise how we speak about and declare things over ourselves, our children and others. Some say I am over sensitive to this matter, but I don’t know, because what else does it mean to say that the tongue has the power of life and death. It sounds serious to me. People often say things like their children are stupid or as a way of expression, they say that the person is a real monkey. Why do we compare people with animals, when people were created in the image of God? Let us think about this more clearly for the Truth is, that we either speak life or death, good or bad, bless or curse and we should therefore not allow everyday expressions to somehow become okay to say, when in fact it means destruction.
In our home, we have agreed to be more alert on how we speak. For instance, we do not say we can’t do something, when in fact God says we can (Philippians 4:13). We also do not say we are sick or that we have headaches. We rather choose to say that our bodies are being attacked. For us, we are owned by Christ and that means that we have salvation, freedom and are no longer of this world. Hence, we are not slaves to anything. Yes, we are in the world, but not of this world anymore and therefore, we should not allow ourselves to be owned by things of this world, like sickness. Does is mean we are never attacked? No, we are probably attacked more often, for being in Christ. The difference is that satan does not and can’t own us, for our spirits are alive in Christ forever, and this means that not even death has a hold on us.
When my mother was diagnosed with cancer, we spoke about it. We agreed that the medical facts on paper showed that there was cancer. Facts are facts, but so is the Truth the truth. Jesus died for our sins and with His resurrection, He overcame death and sickness. We therefore know that sickness and death can’t own us. Yes, mom had to go through an operation and the process thereafter was not easy. However, we approached it day by day, not questioning God, but trusting Him, for if we believe, speak life and claim victory in Christ and still the person must go through such difficulty, then God must have some greater plan for allowing it. That is where faith steps in, trusting beyond understanding. On this point, I just need to say that when someone in Christ has passed on to Heaven after a lengthy battle with cancer or any other illness, we should not say that they lost the battle of cancer or whatever sickness it was. No, we should remember that in Christ, they won the battle and they left this earth to their real home, to live forever, after running the race God had planned for them.
Lastly, we should remember that many people are not in Christ and those that are, even sometimes slip and speak negatively. Therefore, it is critical that we constantly in prayer, break and cancel all curses that we and others speak, knowingly and unknowingly, over ourselves, others and others over us. Then, we must pray the love of Jesus and the Truth in God’s Word over ourselves and others.
Dear reader, whether it is in your car, speaking to your loved ones, conversing with your neighbour, colleague or simply the man on the street, remember that God has given you, His masterpiece, authority and power. I encourage us all, to not only read the words of Proverbs 18:21 and not just to think about it, but also to act by being alert to what we think and say, for the power of life and death is in the tongue. No matter how we look at it, we are what we think and speak.
Love in Christ, Princess K