The Journey - St. Louis

Pastor Darrin continues the Love Lies sermon series with Talk is Cheap, expounding on principles that lead to good communication within our marriages and explaining what the Bible has to say about the power our words possess.
Proverbs 18:21 tells us that "death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits."
While we may not think of our words as possessing the power of life and death, the way we communicate does, in fact, yield a return in our lives. The Amplified Bible puts it this way: "They who indulge in it [the power of the tongue] shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]."
This theme of deliberate and watchful communication is present throughout the Proverbs. We learn that the wise are "slow to speak" and "quick to listen", that we should answer each other "gently", avoiding "harshness which only stirs up anger", and that our words are to be few and purposeful: "Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him" [Proverbs 29:20].
James perhaps describes the power, and also the duality the tongue can possess most intently in [James] 3:10: "For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so."