Is your tongue a gateway for good or evil?

Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin. Prov 13: 3 NIV
In his commentary on this verse Adam Clarke writes, “The government of the tongue is a rare but useful talent.” How true and yet how rare is it that mankind takes this wisdom of God through the pen of Solomon to heart. The bible virtually screams the value and danger of improperly governed speech. According to one count, there are 46 verses that warn the believer about gossip and lying alone and from Genesis to Revelation the Holy Spirit cautions of the tongue’s ability to hurt whether it be through complaining (Num 11:1); lying (Ex 20:16, Titus 2:3, Prov 12:22); profanity (James 5:12); or disrespect toward parents (Pro 20:20; Deu 27:16). The issue of improper speech is clearly very important to God, but why?

When the devil led Jesus “up to a high place and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, he tempted Jesus by saying “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours,” (Luke 4: 5-7) Jesus responded from Deuteronomy chapter 6, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” It is interesting in this dialog that Jesus did not deny the devil’s claim about his authority rather he chose to confine his response to what He knew from God’s word, “Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you…” (Deut 6:13-14) And although he did not include 6:13 in his response, I believe the Spirit is saying here that the devil has been given some latitude by God to continue at work in our day and our speech, may be a gateway into our lives whether for good or evil depending upon how we choose our words.
The scripture here says, “take your oaths in (God’s) name, do not follow other gods.” This fits quite well with what Solomon tells us about speaking rashly. When we do so we fail to speak in accordance with God’s requirement and we leave ourselves wide open to the ruin found in “other gods.”
Father your word reminds us, “out of the abundance of our heart’s our mouths speak.” Help us therefore through your Holy Spirit to keep our new hearts clean so that we remain vigilant of our tongues and the speech that pours forth from them. “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Amen!