“The tongue like a sharp knife… Kills without drawing blood.”  Gautama Siddharta (Buddha)

How would your life change if every word you said became your reality?

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.  (Proverbs 18:21; NKJ)

Here’s a fun little experiment to try.  Grab a partner and have him/her sit in a chair and place the palm of their hand on the top of their head.  You should be standing behind the chair.  Have your partner say something negative out loud, such as “I can’t keep you from moving my hand off my head.”  Then with your partner exerting all their strength to hold their hand on their head, you will probably find it fairly easy to lift their hand away.  Next, have your partner say out loud, “I can keep you from moving my hand off my head.”  Now, you will both be surprised to see that your partner has suddenly become incredibly stronger and it will take great effort on your part to move his/her hand.  What made the difference?

The difference is in the power of the tongue…a power that is dismissed as ridiculous by the rational mind.  After all, we all know that those little sarcastic and self-effacing remarks that we make, often as an attempt at humor, have no bearing on reality–or do they?  I confess that there are countless times when I tried something and gave up muttering, “I just can’t do that” or “I’ll never get that right.”  Have you said those kinds of things?  “I can’t afford that.”  I just can’t seem to solve that problem no matter how hard I try.”

There are reports coming from those folks who spend their lives and careers doing brain research that there is a growing body of evidence that the speech center of the brain has an even broader function than just speech.  Some are saying it has dominion over the entire body.  Wow!  What if they’re right…or even close.  Could it be that what we say has a bearing on our reality?  Would that make you a little more careful about what you say?

Hmmmm…do you suppose that is part of what Solomon was saying when he said that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue?”  How many times have I heard someone say to me, “You’d better watch what you say…you just might get it?”  I usually would just dismiss it as being superstitious or naive at best.  After all, it’s what you do that counts…not what you say.  Maybe my pompous intellect has been deceiving me.  Maybe Solomon was right after all.

Prayer Power
Lord, please pour out your grace on me as I become more and more aware of some of the goofy, unthinking things I say.  I purpose to guard my tongue…not only with regard to what I say about others, but just as importantly, what I say about myself.

Link of the Day
Power of the Tongue

Blessings on you as you reflect on the words you use to describe yourself.