by Chadwick Brewer<\/p>\n
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits<\/em>” (Proverbs 18:21).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Our words are more powerful than we often realize. They can bring life or deal death. Proverbs 18:21 reminds us that “death and life are in the power of the tongue<\/em>,” and every word we speak carries eternal weight. A single sentence can uplift a person for years or wound them for a lifetime. The tongue may be small, but its impact is enormous, shaping relationships, reputations, and even our own character.<\/p>\n
God demonstrates the ultimate power of words. Through His speech, creation came into being, and Jesus Himself is called “The Word” (John 1:1). Words are not just tools; they are instruments of life and truth. Our words reveal the condition of our hearts and the character of our faith (Luke 6:45). They are mirrors of what we treasure inside and instruments through which we serve God and others.<\/p>\n
We are entrusted with a sacred power, and because God has entrusted us with this gift, we must wield it wisely. Every word we speak is a chance to give life, to encourage, and to honor God, or to destroy, discourage, and harm. Our tongues carry immense responsibility, and the choice is ours: to speak life or death. We are entrusted with a sacred power.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Chadwick Brewer “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits” (Proverbs 18:21). Our words are more powerful than we often realize. They can bring life or deal death. Proverbs 18:21 reminds us that “death and life are in the power of the tongue,”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1558,96],"class_list":["post-89569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-speech","tag-tongue"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35726,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-wise-teacher-guards-his-tongue\/","url_meta":{"origin":89569,"position":0},"title":"The Wise Teacher Guards His Tongue","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant \"He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding\" (Proverbs 17:27). Those who preach and teach are people of words. That's obvious, as that's how we proclaim the message. But how we use our tongue can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/guard-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":93776,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/tired-of-the-filthy-mouths\/","url_meta":{"origin":89569,"position":1},"title":"Tired of the Filthy Mouths","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Brad Harrub, Ph.D. One of the clearest indicators of cultural decline is not found in court rulings or political debates, but in everyday speech. Profanity has exploded in our culture-not only in conversations, but emblazoned across clothing, plastered on car decals, and casually promoted as humor or \"being real.\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mouthing-off-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":572,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/in-word-and-deed\/","url_meta":{"origin":89569,"position":2},"title":"In Word and Deed","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Colossians 3:12-17 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There needs to be a consistency between the things we say and the things we do \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0People understand that it is one thing to talk about something, but often something else to actually to it.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85620,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/words-hurt-words-heal\/","url_meta":{"origin":89569,"position":3},"title":"Words Hurt, Words Heal","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer \"There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing\" (Proverbs 12:18). Words can hurt. They can be like sword thrusts, cutting deeply and hurting people in ways we may not even consider. Because \"what comes out of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/hand-and-flower-300x200.avif","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23996,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-words-we-speak\/","url_meta":{"origin":89569,"position":4},"title":"The Words We Speak","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 4:17-24 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is a Proverb that stands out in my mind - Proverbs 26:18-19 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0You cannot cover up lies with a claim that you were making a joke. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We are judged by what we say, even the casual things said without much thought\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54585,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-speak-something-into-existence\/","url_meta":{"origin":89569,"position":5},"title":"Can you speak something into existence?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I heard someone use the figure of speech that negative thinking \"speaks it into existence.\" In other words, when you verbalize negativity that person's reality becomes negative. The Bible tells us God spoke the worlds into existence. Man has the ability to speak something. For example, at some point\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89569\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}