The Double Edged Sword

UV 1650/10000 The Double Edged Sword

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Proverbs 18 v 21

The power of death and life resides in the tongue of the believer. Elijah could speak and the rain ceased for three and a half years. Joshua spoke and the sun stopped in its tracks. Jesus spoke and the dead were resurrected. Peter spoke and Ananias and Saphira having lied about giving the entire proceeds of their house fell dead. Every word counts and every word is counted. The lips of a royal priest of God and of Jesus preserves knowledge and imparts life and eternal life to the listeners. The power of the tongue of the believer is derived from the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the constant relishing and imbibing of the Word. The Word is described as a spiritual sword and the human tongue is also described as a sword. Togther, these become a double-edge sword to give life and not to take life. A tongue that is loaded and speaks the Word becomes a hammer to destroy the barriers, the blocks, the sources of deficiency in different areas of our lives. It is a catapult to throw the fire of the spirit and missiles to destroy the strongholds of the enemy.

A righteous person treasures the good words of the Word in his or her heart. An evil person treasures the evil words of the enemy in his or her heart. The evil person thinks he or she is smarter than God and disbelieves and discredits His Word. Both bring out the kind of words that are treasured in their hearts and reap either fruits of life or of death. A fool’s tongue in contrast brings death and destruction. A fool or imprudent speaker uses his or her own tongue to cut off his or her head. He uses his tongue to cut himself and others.
The tongue is used in default as an instrument of destruction in this world and in our relationships but it is designed to be a source of the abundant and eternal life.
The tongue, tiny as it is, has the power of prayer, the power of praise, the power of command, the power of execution, the power to raise the dead to life, the power to cause healing, the power of blessing, the power of inspiration, the power of discipline and correction, the power of proclaiming and claiming victory over foes, the power to command the forces of nature, the power to produce peace, the power to impart knowledge and wisdom, the power of edification or to be able to build the faith of others. It has the power to cause springs of water to pour forth from a dry rock. We need to love these fruits or results of our proper use or God-intended and enabled use of the amazing human tongue. It also has the power to curse and to add fuel to the strife of jealousy, bitterness, hatred, pride, anger and self destruction. It can speak vain words, empty words, boastful and proud words that are destructive. We need to hate intensely these deadly fruits of the human tongue.

Prateep V Philip