What Does the Bible Say about our Mouths?

What Does the Bible Say about Our Mouths?

I don’t know about you, but one of my greatest adversaries is my mouth or my tongue as the Bible often refers to it. As a child I was told that I “ran off” at the mouth. Essentially, this means I spoke before engaging my brain (thinking). I have hurt many people with my words, and I regret it. Although I know this area of my life has improved significantly since putting my faith in Christ as my Savior, I know I am far from perfect when it comes to the way I use my words/ mouth. So, what does the Bible say about how we use our mouths? And what should we use them for?

The Bible has a lot to say about the power of the tongue. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits” (Prov. 18:21, ESV). Proverbs 12:18 says, “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” James 3:5 notes, “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire  by a small spark!” Wow! The tongue has significant power, both for good and bad. Death and life and fire and words piercing like swords! There is a lot of power in what we say. As Christians we need to be very careful in the way we wield the “sword” of our words. We want to honor God in all we do.

We know we need to be careful with our words, so what should we say? According to Scripture, there is a lot we should say. Romans 10:9 tells us that salvation is from confessing with our tongues and believing with our hearts: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Ephesians 4:29 offers good advice for how we should use our words: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Most of all, we should be using our mouths, that God created, to praise and glorify Him: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:6).

The Bible is clear about the importance of our words/ tongue. We are all sinners and can use God’s gift of speech for evil, but our goal should always be to bring God glory in everything we do, especially how we communicate with Him and others.

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