The Power of the Tongue

     "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 18:21  The scripture makes no mistake about it: our words have the power to change the world around us, even the power over life and death. That you will "eat its fruit" if you love it is a reference to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Genesis creation story.  Adam and Eve lived in an idyllic world, in the garden of creation.  But there was one tree they were told not to eat of its fruit.  It was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  When they were wooed by its power they ate of it.  This is the original sin that unleashed death and sin into the world. They loved it - they wanted its power, and the flawed world we know is the result.  A world that is against God by default - not for him. Our words have the power to create or destroy.  When God created the world: the oceans, the land, plants and animals, stars and suns and galaxies, he spoke them into being.  He created the reality we know with his tongue.  And we are the sons and daughters of God, made in his image.  Aren't our words equally as powerful?  What we say creates reality for us and the people we speak them to.   The Native Americans knew this.  Their stories about the animals and how things came into being were stories spoken down through the generations, influencing all aspects of life.  Modern Native Americans recognize the power of these stories to keep their traditions alive.

     Jesus, it says in John, was the Word. "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." He was a continuation of the words God spoke into creation.  In his earthly ministry and by his death and resurrection  he created reality with his actions, acting out his role as the Word of God.  He created, just as God did in the creation story.  He continued God's work, and implemented God's plan for the salvation of the world and the restoration of the idyllic garden from Genesis in the world today because he was God's word in the flesh. Where is this idyllic garden?  It is the Kingdom of God in our hearts, put there by the Word, Jesus, though his creative actions. It is our lives when they are changed by the indwelling of the spirit as we grow closer to God.  And God's same creative words flow out of our lives. They are in our poetry and writings, like this blog.  They are in the work of Christian scholars and writers.  They are in our actions: feeding the poor, caring for the sick and downtrodden.  The Word of God governs the church as the body of believers living in his spirit.  It informs our actions as we draw close to God through Jesus, by acting like Jesus - God's words in the flesh.

     And what about our own words?  Doesn't this view give us more respect for what we say?  We are creating with our words.  Back to Proverbs 18: " There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."   and in Matthew 12:36 " I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak."  I am loath to mention it, but this is why Donald Trump scares me so much.  The power of his careless and inflammatory words are going to be driving our country and world events and world relationships. We, as Christians will stand out against this dark background as the sons and daughters of light if we appreciate the power of our words and actions. How do we control our words?  Not by any struggling on our own power.  It is by drawing close to God.  It is by spending time in scripture and prayer.  It is by soaking ourselves in the love of god for ourselves and for others. 

     I hope my words on this page have created something in you.  I love you, my readers. Let's get to work being the Word of God, like Jesus was.