Be Lavish With Your Praise
Years ago- when all 5 of our kids were teenagers, we bought them an old SUV for driving to school. One day I got an interesting phone call. It was one of my sons saying, "Dad, the car's on fire!" After making sure everyone was safe I told him to run to a house to see if there was a fire extinguisher to put it out. He said, "We can't put it out, it's too big." This is the kind of fire that you and I can set ablaze with our tongues if we aren't careful.
James 3:5 says, "The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark." Proverbs 18:21 tells us, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." If you speak words to mock others, if you say cruel, hurtful things when angry, if you speak negatively of others or enjoy sharing gossip- take care! You are igniting fires that you may not be able to put out until you have burned those relationships to the ground!
More than that, you're giving the world a picture of something that is wrong in your own heart. In Luke, 6:45 Jesus said, "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks." Friends, use your words to encourage and build others up. Don't tear down, don't destroy, don't light fires that can never be put out. Find the good in others, be lavish with your praise, and you will be blessed! -Pastor Brad
Written on December 21, 2025
Posted in Daily Devotions