ALL ABOUT TONGUES

Proverbs 18:21

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (NIV)

The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences. (NLT)

Yeah, yeah, I know this verse. It means  I shouldn’t gossip. I shouldn’t say bad things about others (even though they are). I shouldn’t curse others ( loudly ). I shouldn’t label my kids negatively. And the list go on and on.

So far, I always connect this verse with others. But today, another lamp in my head clicked. What if I connect this verse to myself?

1.     How many times I speak badly about myself ?

Oh how stupid of me ! (cursing myself)

Oh God, I look like a fat cow in this dress (say bad thing about myself)

I am so sorry that I acted like a b#@^* ( label myself negatively)

Well, forgive me. I am a forgetful person (another negative label)

2.     Speak kindly to myself?  Well, self pamper  is a good thing. I do it, and to be honest I always feel better after a good manicure or a cup of nice coffee or a trip to massage parlor. The next time, I do something bad like forgetting something or wearing a dress that doesn’t look good on me, I will do my best to speak kindly of myself .

Sorry about this…I’ll do better next time !

This dress does not look good on me. Let me find a better one.

This dress does not fit me anymore. It’s time to go to the gym.

I am so sorry that I spoke rudely to you. I am in the process of training my mouth.

3.     Saying positive things to myself.  If as parents, we are advised to speak positive things to our kids, should we train ourselves to speak positively about ourselves? Sure enough.

When I stand in front of my mirror, I will not ask the mirror whether I am the fairest of all. I will define myself as my God define me. I am His beloved child. I am His bride. I am the apple of His eye. I am chosen by God. I am forgiven by God. I am a friend of God.

Those words I will say loudly to myself. Because my tongue can bring death or life. I will surely speak nicely, kindly, positively to myself to reap a good consequences of having a better self.

If my God created the whole world by the words of His mouth,  I will follow His example of creating my own world ( myself , my family, my workplace, my temper, my character, my personality, my thinking , etc ) by speaking positively . After all, I was created in His image.