4 The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life,
but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.—The words from King Solomon in Proverbs 15:4
In 1967, as part of a research project for a radio production techniques class in college, I had the opportunity to read through some of the 221 scripts for the television series The Lone Ranger. On the air from 1949 through 1957, this series featured Clayton Moore in the role of the masked hero and Jay Silverheels in the role of the Lone Ranger’s faithful Indian companion, Tonto. The dialogue in these scripts held a particular fascination for me because I had grown up listening to replays of the radio programs and then watching the series—once we became the proud owners of a television set.
I remember one particular exchange between the Lone Ranger and Tonto:
Tonto: That man speaks with a sharp tongue, Kemosabe.
Lone Ranger: Why do you say that, Tonto.
Tonto: Man walks with head high and tilted back, swaggers from side to side. An arrogant man. His tongue matches his stride.
Imagine that: “His tongue matches his stride.” What kind of tongue do you have?
In the Scripture verse at the beginning of this blog post, King Solomon asserts that when a tongue brings healing it becomes life giving like a tree. But a tongue that speaks lies crushes the spirit.
In the latter case, Solomon dosen’t indicate whose spirit becomes crushed. I suspect that the lies from a deceitful tongue crush both the one who speaks the lies and the one about whom the lies have been spoken.
How much better it would be in every situation if we all decided to use our tongues to bring healing instead of deceit or strife.
I felt truly surprised when I received a telephone call from a friend who pointed me to some public Facebook posts by one of the ordained elders from the church she attends—now embroiled in a major church split. After reading them, I could understand her concern. She has consistently prayed for healing and restoration. But, taken at face value, these posts hardly seem to evoke a spirit of reconciliation. I suspect that, if confronted, the elders who created these posts, or commented on them, would likely claim they intended their words only as humor or “blowing off steam.” Yet, to my friend, who longs to see her church healed and restored, they seemed like pouring gasoline on an already-burning fire.
Even so, I’m sure that neither you nor I need to troll the internet or social media sites to find examples of words harshly spoken. We only need to look inside our own minds and hearts at the words the Holy Spirit will call to our remembrance—times when our tongues did not speak healing words.
As we surrender our wills to God and allow Him to shape us into the people He wants us to become, let us determine to amend not only the stride of our walk but the words of our tongue. Let’s strive to become people who use our tongues to bring healing.
Will you pray with me?
Thank You, God, for loving us. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Thank You for sending us Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
Precious Father, we fall on our faces before you in humility and confess those times when we have used our tongues to bring harshness, cruelty, and strife. Forgive us for failing to use our tongues to bring only healing. We pray You will grant us the ability to rely on Your Holy Spirit to help us guard how we use our tongues.
We thank You, Precious Father, that—especially in the midst of the chaos of this life—You are the One who controls every aspect of our lives. We choose to rest in Your mercy and grace. And, we thank You for hearing our prayer in and through the precious Name of Your Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment