Do You Have A Critical Tongue?

We are in the season of elections in who will be the next president of the United States of America. The smears campaigns are getting pretty ugly and heated up these days. Before everything settles out in which candidate will rise to the top, they will spend millions of dollars smearing one another so they can be chosen in taking the highest office of the land.

Most of us will be sick to our stomachs listening to the entire mud-slinging going on back and forth. Most of us can't wait till get out from under the shadow of these ugly spirited days of criticism.

None of us like to be around someone who is critical. Several marriages fail because of the approach some people take in sharing their complaint. Some lose their jobs, some lose their friends because they don't know how to control their tongue.

The word says in Proverbs 18:21 "There is death and life in the tongue and those who love to talk will reap the consequences." We all choose to either bring life or death with this member in our bodies. If you really want to work towards a solution with your son, your daughter, your spouse, your co-worker, your pastor, your friend, remember a few of these tips:

Always attack the problem and not the person. We have all been tempted to attack the one who has hurt us, instead of staying focus on the problem itself. You will only get further apart when you attack the person.

Pray for the one who has upset you. Do we really believe in prayer? Praying to God is saying, "Lord I can't do this thing without you."  I have learned that prayer has so much more effect in working through the issues with people, than all my talking and debating about the issue.

Plan for a good time to have a discussion about the problem. Midnight isn't usually the best time to approach your issues. You are tired and will end up saying something you regret.  In your car, there is cap on your radiator that says; "Do not remove when hot". That is a good policy to keep in your home, your work place, at church and so forth. You can say things that you didn't mean to say. Cool down and go pray and be civil with your words.

Look for the best in people. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Everybody is not a evil person. It may be that someone took your parking spot. Someone may have gotten in front of you in the grocery line. Remember, they may be going through a divorce, they may have just lost their parent, and they may have just lost their job. Most of us are in the fog during these times.

What you dish out will come back to you. For with the same judgment you judge, ye shall also be judged. (2)

It's a challenge to walk wisely with your words, but it pays great rewards to use your tongue in a healthy way. Do you bring life or death with your tongue?