The Power of the Tongue Part 1
“Listen to and pay careful attention when a successful person is talking; then listen to those who are struggling in every aspect of their lives and you will hear a marked difference. The successful person knows the power, which lies in what they say and how they say it, while the unsuccessful person does not…” — Rick Cox
Part 1
Your interest should be piqued to the maximum when you begin to ponder what it is that makes one person a success, while another is not. Why is one doing significantly better than the other? Moreover, why is the one that is struggling is not taking notes and trying to emulate the one which is successful?
Solomon, known by all as the wisest man to have ever lived, on dozens of occasions mentions not only the power that is in the words one speaks, he also talks about how those words are spoken. Of all Solomon’s proverbs one of the most striking to me is: “Life and death are in the power of the tongue and they who indulge it shall eat the fruit of it either in death or life.”
I don’t know about you, but to me those are pretty serious words for they talk about life and death being in the power of the tongue and this is being said by the one who is known as the wisest man to have ever lived. If that in fact is true, and I believe it is, is it then any wonder why the speech of one who is successful is more often than not much more positive as well as more focused than the one that is not? Is it also of any wonder why those who have the command of their native language often rule over those who do not?
It has been over three decades since I first learned of the power of tongue. That is to say learned of the power in what I say and how I say it. The reality of it all brought me to a stark realization of just how negative my speech was after I began to analyze it on a daily basis. What I found was almost everything I said ended with some sort of negative undertone and suggestion.
Upon realizing how negative my speech was I started working on bringing about the necessary changes in my speech as well as my thoughts. Doing so has drastically changed my life for the better. Once I started talking in a positive manner, it helped me to develop and maintain a Positive Mental Attitude. As a result I found my future looked brighter while my life took on a new energy, which provided the faith and hope necessary to tackle the many challenges I have since faced and been able to overcome.
Perhaps you are not like the majority who talk out what they think. Perhaps you like to keep to yourself not saying much to those around, but you think the words or worse yet, you mutter them under your breath. The speaking of words gives those words the necessary power to go out and create or destroy. Jesus in one of His sermons even correlated what Solomon said, “For by YOUR WORDS you will be justified and acquitted OR by YOUR WORDS you will be condemned and sentenced.”
Precious few will come to a knowledgeable understanding of the importance of the words they speak and the spirit in which those words are spoken. Most go through their entire lives speaking negatively, not only of themselves, but of all others. They do this not realizing something bad or good is going to be created and or strengthened each time they speak. This can be evident in how you speak to or of your spouse or child. This can be true of how you speak to or about your friends and this can be true of how you speak to or about yourself.
Most of us to speak to ourselves, but are we being encouraged by our speech and are we encouraging others? It is very hard to maintain a strong loving relationship with anyone, including yourself, when you are verbally belittling or cutting them down even when they don’t know you are doing it. The reality is you are primarily the one being effected by the words you speak for in this case the words you are speaking are taking root in your heart. These negative, hateful words are now filling the same heart, which was once filled with love and perhaps a love you had for the very person you now belittle or demean. If this speech continues and you do not stop or turn it around to something positive about and for them, your heart will soon be so full of hatefulness there will be no room for love.
I challenge you to take the next few days to analyze what you are saying and how you are saying it. I challenge you to analyze the words you are choosing when you speak. I challenge you to make them positive and not negative.
Best of LUCK as you
Labor Under Correct Knowledge…
Respectfully,
Rick Cox