In our everyday lives, it seems that nothing seems surprising to hear anymore - we "love" this thing or that, we are "dying" to see such-and-such, and so-and-so is "killing" us. All of these are common things said and heard, along with the all-to-common self-defeat talk that is so prevalent in our modern society. As you read this, I want you to try to think back over the past 24 hours and see whether or not anything comes to mind regarding your own speech. You see, our speech is far more important than how we may treat it. Let's go to God's word to build a case for this:

First, according to Genesis, we are made in God's likeness and image. We have his attributes (and according to what Jesus said, we have His authority - Luke 10:19, for example), and we, like Father, are creators in our own rite. Proverbs 18:20-21 says that "From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied. Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it (life or death) shall eat its fruit."Additionally, Proverbs 12:14 says, "From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him." And check outProverbs 13;2, which tells us that a man enjoys good things from the fruit of his lips. Clearly, Solomon was trying to nail down a point in Proverbs by repeating this several times throughout his writings. Even Jesus said that,""For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned (Matthew 12:37).

Imagine for a moment that you would...