Do you know what makes a politician a politician? Answer: the tongue. Do you know what made my dad whoop me with his belt on my behind with my pants pulled down to my ankles behind a lone tree in a construction zone on the highway when I was 13 yrs. old? Answer: my tongue. What makes friends in one second and breaks them in the next? What praises Christ’s name and uses it as a swear word only moments apart? And what instrument has the power to be the centerpiece of–contention, disunity, division–and at the same time–peace, cooperation, and goodwill–within the church? You guessed it: the tongue.
My tongue has gotten me in a lifetime of trouble beyond that day in the construction zone when I was 13 yrs. old. I remember when I was 9 yrs. old telling my Mom, “Will you just be quiet?” I felt that one on my gluteus maximus too. I like to think that my tongue has tamed with age, but still I find it an ever present temptation to speak WHATever is on my mind, WHENever it’s on my mind. The urge to share something I heard about someone, tell somebody off, put any and everyone in their place, and prove my case by speaking louder and prouder than everyone else is still there. I believe it is our relentlessness to feed these urges that we experience episodic or continual strife within the local bodies of Christ. If every church member would wake up in the morning and wash out their mouth with Solomon Soap from Proverbs, how much strife could we put to rest?
The following listing of scriptures from Proverbs is the result of personal studies from earlier this year. While reading the book of Proverbs, I took note of every time the writer said anything about the tongue, good or bad. I then categorized these proverbs for comprehension and practical application purposes. My findings revealed there is more said about the tongue in the book of Proverbs than anything else aside from general instructions of wisdom and foolishness. The results of this study beg us to meditate deeply on these words of wisdom and wash our mouths with its proverbial soap.
Negative Proverbs About the Tongue
The foolish tongue will get you in trouble and make you a worthless, wicked person.
Proverbs 6:12, “A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth.”
(see also 6:2; 8:13; 10:18-21,31-32; 12:21; 15:4,7,14; 16:28; 19:1,28)
The foolish tongue speaks Violence (aka: fightin’ words).
Proverbs 10:11, “The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.”
(see also 13:2)
The foolish tongue speaks Contention.
Proverbs 18:6, “A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calls for blows.”
(see also 26:21)
The foolish tongue Flatters.
Proverbs 29:5, “A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.”
(see also 20:19; 26:28; 28:23)
The foolish tongue spouts off what it does not know or understand (aka: ignorance).
Proverbs 10:13-14, “Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding, but a rod is for the back of him who is devoid of understanding. Wise people store up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.”
(see also 14:7; 16:23)
The foolish tongue likes to talk…a lot (aka: word vomit).
Proverbs 10:19, “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.”
(see also 13:3; 17:27; 18:13)
The foolish tongues speaks Unfiltered (aka: venting).
Proverbs 29:11, “A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.”
The foolish tongue says one thing but does the opposite (aka: hypocrisy).
Proverbs 11:9, “The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.”
The foolish tongue spreads Secrets (aka: talebearing).
Proverbs 26:20, “Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.”
(see also 11:13; 18:8; 20:19; 26:22)
The foolish tongue Whispers.
Proverbs 16:28, “A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends.”
The foolish tongue Slanders (aka: harmful speech about someone).
Proverbs 10:18, “Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.”
(see also 25:23)
The foolish tongue makes foolish Vows.
Proverbs 20:25, “It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy, and afterward to reconsider his vows.”
(see also 6:1-5; 11:15; 20:16; 22:26-27; 27:13)
The foolish tongue speaks Deceit & Lies.
Proverbs 4:24, “Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you.”
(see also 6:17,19; 12:17,19,22; 13:5; 14:5; 17;4,7,20; 19:5,9; 21:6; 26:28)
Positive Proverbs About the Tongue
The wise tongue can accomplish much good.
Proverbs 15:23, “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!”
(see also 12:13-14,18; 15:2; 16:13; 18:4,20-21; 25:11; 31:26)
The wise tongue speaks Kindness.
Proverbs 16:24, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.”
(see also 22:11; 31:26)
The wise tongue speaks that which makes for Peace.
Proverbs 12:20, “Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but counselors of peace have joy.”
The wise tongue gives a Soft Answer.
Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
The wise tongue Thinks before it Speaks.
Proverbs 15:28, “The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.
(see also 17:27; 18:13)
The wise tongue wants to say something mean about his neighbor but chooses to hold it in instead.
Proverbs 11:11-12, “He who is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his peace.”
(see also 17:28; 21:23)
