The Power Of The Tongue

The Power Of The Tongue

"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."
Proverbs 18:21

I have written many devotionals over the years about the power of the tongue. Several years ago, I received this powerful story from a friend, which is a good reminder of just how powerful the tongue is. There was once a boy who had a very bad temper. In order to control his temper, his father gave him a bag of nails and told him that from now on, each time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into their beautiful new white picket fence. The first day the boy drove in thirty-seven nails. Over the next few weeks, he learned to control his anger, and the number of nails he hammered daily gradually decreased. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper, than to go outside and drive those nails into the fence. When he told his father about this, he suggested that the boy now start pulling out a nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. Finally, the day came when the young boy was able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. That evening, the father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "Son, you have done well, but look at the holes you've made here. Our beautiful fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, to the people you love, they leave deep, ugly holes just like these. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound will still be there." This simple story tells us just how powerful the tongue is, as once our words are spoken, the result will always be there, no matter how hard we try to take them back, the damage has already been done. Think about your words, and don't ever speak in anger.