The Tongue of the Learned

Sunday Omori

“The tongue has no bones but is strong enough to break a heart, so be careful with your words.” Anonymous

I grew up in a community where it is common to hear a parent say to the child, “Naboboke”, meaning “You will die”. Aside from parents using these words, some people use them as a way of abusing or placing a curse on someone. Little have they realized that such words go forth to dig the grave of the person if not countered immediately. A man shared his story with me of how in the morning of the day he got married, his fiancée said, “This marriage is not by force”, because of a little misunderstanding between them. As he was thinking about the next action to take, the Holy Spirit told him, “Just love her”; and they are now happily married. What if he was not conscious of the Holy Spirit? Apparently, we can easily tell the other side of the story. In another instance, the owner of a business I worked for once said to me, “The owner of a ladder you are climbing can decide to remove it”, just to express his anger. I knew my boss cannot decide my destiny so I meditated on those words and took it as a challenge to own my business. Today, I am an employer of labor to the glory of God. These are some examples of how our words can give life or kill (See Proverbs 18:21). Words spoken are so powerful that relationships and destinies can be destroyed.

The Tongue

The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth. Aside from helping us to chew and swallow food, it is vital for speech. So the Scripture admonishes us to be mindful of what the tongue can do. The tongue has caused wars, destroyed marriages, caused depression; to name but a few havocs. It is important that our words are such that bring hope to the hopeless, lift the souls of the downcast, and encourage others to grow.

The Learned

“The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary..” (Isaiah 50:4)

From this Bible passage, we can see that what we say is a function of how learned we are. God indeed gives His children a tongue that gives life to every situation. I believe the Bible is not referring to those advocates who say they are “learned” but end up bearing false witness just to win a case. The Oxford Dictionary defines “learned” as a person who has acquired much knowledge through study. From the biblical perspective, the learned is one who studies God’s ways, methods and principles and has the indwelling of God’s Word. The learned follows God’s instructions even in utterances. So we can only receive the tongue of the learned by allowing the Word of God to dwell in us richly through constant study and application. The Word of God is able to transform our minds and the way we think thereby affecting the way we talk (See Matthew 12:34) – what to say, how to say it and when to say it. The learned is someone who is a student of Jesus Christ – learning his character and ways (See Matthew 11:29).

The tongue of the learned does not speak lies and does not condemn, abuse or slander others. The tongue of learned speaks wise, kind and gracious words that bring strength to the weary.

“Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” (Proverbs 16:24)

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29)

We shall give account of every careless word we speak in the day of judgment, so it is important to tame our tongue by receiving the tongue of the learned.  

“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an account for it in the day of judgment.” (Matthew 12:36)

You cannot receive the tongue of the learned if you don’t learn from Jesus Christ. And you cannot learn from Jesus Christ if you have not accepted Him as your Lord and Savior. Say this prayer: Lord Jesus, come into my heart. I receive You as my Lord and Savior; I believe that You came, died for me and rose again to save me. Conform me to Your likeness. I declare that I am born again. Amen!

Congratulations, if you said that prayer. I urge you to think before you say because what you say can cause what you did not think on.