Six Types of Tongues Part 5

We are now on # 5, and I am sorry that there has been such a long time in between them. Maybe things will slow down again after the first of the year, but who knows!

A Perverse Tongue

Proverbs 17:20: "He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief."

The word perverse in today's text means "overturned" or "changed." A perverse tongue, therefore, is one that distorts, changes or perverts that which is true. This tongue differs from many of the other tongues previously studied in that a perverse tongue does not necessarily involve spitefulness or intentional harm directed toward another person. Regardless of motive, all one needs to do in order to speak with a perverse tongue is to intentionally lie about someone or something. Despite the fact that many today often accept and sometimes even glorify dishonesty, God does not treat duplicity or deceitfulness lightly. In fact, He says He hates such wickedness and defines a "lying tongue" and "a false witness that speaketh lies" as and "abomination" to Him (Proverbs 16:16-19). Today's text presents the consequences of speaking with such a tongue --"He that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief."

Probably many of us have already learned the hard way that one lie often leads to another, and before we know it, we find ourselves in a terrible mess that could have been avoided had we only spoken the truth in the first place. While telling the truth may sometimes cause heartache and pain, lying will surely cause even greater distress, not only in our relationships with others but also in our relationship with God. By guarding our mouths against lying words, we "[keep our] soul from troubles" (Prov. 21:23) and keep our hearts pure and blameless before the Lord. As children of God, we must be careful that we "lie not one to another" (Col. 3:9), for a perverse tongue will result in calamity and inevitable chastisement from our Heavenly Father.

Something to think about,
Country Mama