Never underestimate the power of a spoken word. Only one man in American history ever resigned from the presidency: Richard Nixon. Have you ever considered what brought President Nixon down? Traditional thinking says it was the tapes of his private conversations. But it wasn’t the tapes, it was his tongue. It wasn’t the tapes but what he said on the tapes that determined his demise.

The words tongue, mouth, lips, and words are mentioned in the book of Proverbs almost 150 times; roughly five times in each of the thirty-one chapters. The fact that so much importance is placed on our words tells us we had better take care of what comes out of our mouths. Stop and consider this: in a period of fifty years, the average person says enough words to create twelve thousand volumes of three hundred pages each. If that’s the average, think about the libraries you’re filling and the legacy you’re leaving behind. And sadly, some of the words you speak will never be forgotten!

William Norris wrote, ‘If your lips would keep from slips, five things observe with care: To whom you speak, of whom you speak, and how, and when, and where.’

Solomon wanted his children to grow up with a heart of wisdom, so he said, ‘My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed; my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.’ (Proverbs 23:15–16 NIV) So today, control your tongue.