OUR DAILY BREAD : THE POWER OF WORDS

[cimi]

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 26


THE POWER OF WORDS

READ:
PROVERBS 18:21
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Nelson Mandela, who opposed the South African apartheid regime and was imprisoned for almost 3 decades, knew the power of words. He is often quoted today, but while in prison his words could not be quoted for fear of repercussion. A decade after his release he said: "It is never my custom to use words lightly. If 27 years in prison have done anything to us, it was to use the silence of solitude to make us understand how precious words are, and how real speech is in its impact on the way people live and die."

King Solomon, author of most of the Old Testament book of Proverbs, wrote often about the power of words. He said, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (PROV. 18:21). Words have the potential to produce positive or negative consequences (v.20). They have the power to give life through encouragement and honesty or to crush and kill through lies and gossip. How can we be assured of producing good words that have a positive outcome? The only way is by diligently guarding our hearts: "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" (4:23 NIV).

Jesus can transform our hearts so that our words can truly be their best-honest, calm, appropriate, and suitable for the situation. ___Marvin Williams

**Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
PSALM 19:34
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Our words have the power to build up or tear down.

***********************today's Bible Reading __ Proverbs 18:1-8, 20-21***********************
1 A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he
rages against all wise judgment.

2 A fool has no delight in understanding, but in
expressing his own heart.

3 When the wicked comes, contempt comes also; and with
dishonor comes reproach.

4 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters; the
wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.

5 It is not good to show partially to the wicked, or to
overthrow the righteous in judgment.

6 A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calls
for blows. 7 A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are
the snare of his soul. 8 The word of a talebearer are like tasty
trifles, and they go down into the inmost body....

20 A man's stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his
mouth; from the produce of his lips he shall be filled.

21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those
who love it will eat its fruit.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
The Insight for August 4 discussed two Hebrew
poetic devices that mark Jewish poetry. In Proverbs 18 we see
another poetic device, synonymous parallelism, which repeats
the same thing in a similar way. Proverbs 18:20 is an example
of this. "Fruit of his mouth" parallels "produce of his lips," while
"shall be satisfied" lines up with "shall be filled." As you read
through the proverbs, see if you can find other examples of
synonymous parallelism.