The Power of the Tongue Part 2
“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 2
To say vocabulary is important and to say it has a negative or positive effect on our lives is an understatement. What is said as well as the words and attitude chosen to express that which one wants to express is more important than most of us are aware. As stated in part 1, we have the power of life in death through the use of our tongue. We have the future of our own life in our speech. We have failure or success in what we say and best of all we can change our thoughts with our confession, which in turn will change our lives for the better.
Solomon said, “You are snared with the words of your lips, you are caught in the speech of your mouth.” It appears quite obvious Solomon knew something about the power of what one says, that is to say, what one confesses. In this particular case Solomon is giving an example of a person who said with their mouth they were going to become a cosigner for another. This is no different from you telling a friend you will ‘help’ them out financially when they are in trouble. What you will find ninety nine times out of one hundred is this will turn out to your detriment and ultimately ruin the friendship. Solomon’s advice for those who have done this is to run, not walk, but do whatever will help you be the quickest in getting over to the neighbor or friends house to beg that person to let you off the hook and release you from being a cosigner on their debt.
Over the years I have done this with more than a couple dozen close friends. It seems I am a slow learner. Out of these there are only two that are still friends to this day. What happens is these friends find themselves in dire straits and in desperate need of a loan. You being the friend you are, “speak up” by telling them you will help them out. You loan them money and shortly thereafter, somehow you become the bad person because you want your money paid back. The relationship is tested and it fails because one of those involved, more often than not the one borrowing the money, did not hold up their end. The obvious result is the friendship falls apart.
I remember the ‘big one’ for me came when I combined two profitable businesses then sold them to a couple of ‘close’ friends, who chose to go into business together. The sale consisted of me carrying the paper, which was the majority of the debt as well as cosigning for their bonding capacity. It was during this nightmare I also came to learn what the term ‘continuing guarantee’ meant. This was quite the rude awakening. It cost my wife and I almost everything we had including our clothes. Within eighteen months these two profitable businesses were bleeding red ink all over the place. Although my accountant was looking at the books we had no idea they were ‘being cooked.’ Both of us had suspected as much, even had the alarm in our gut going off, but had been unable to prove it.
The proof came one morning when I drove over to the office and there was nothing in it. All was gone. No desks, no paper, no equipment, nothing. My heart sank and I went numb. I sat down on the floor in shock. Shortly thereafter, I was told to file bankruptcy, but did not and went on to pay it all off and make good on debts I DID NOT CAUSE. I did however ‘say’ I would be security for my two friends. My future was in my speech and thus, my future took a turn for the worse when I spoke into existence the forthcoming loss of our home, properties, vehicles and everything my wife and I had in the bank. All of this happened because I made a pledge for my two friends.
Additionally, we often speak drama or turmoil into existence when we commit, by speech, to helping someone do something before giving it proper thought. We haven’t taken the time to check on previous commitments. The result of our speech to help out often leaves us with a bitter taste especially when we wind up doing the majority of whatever it is, while things of greater importance, such as spending time with family, are left undone.
We must watch what we say and how we say it all the while guarding our emotions thereby, ensuring that we are not writing a check through sentiment, which we cannot or should not cash.
Best of LUCK as you
Labor Under Correct Knowledge…
Respectfully,
Rick Cox