“I really shouldn’t have said that.”
How often do we look back and say that?
The tongue is very small, but also very powerful, as the book of James points out. It has the power to give life, building people up and encouraging them. But it also has the power to destroy.
And Doeg, Saul’s chief shepherd used it to destroy. Perhaps in hoping to win favor from Saul, and perhaps also desiring a financial reward, he told Saul about how the priests in Nob had helped David.
Not only that, when the rest of Saul’s men refused to kill the priests, Saul had Doeg do it.
And so David wrote Psalm 52. And in it he talks about how evil the tongue can be.
It boasts about the evil we do (Psalm 52:1).
It plots destruction, and practices deceit (2).
It speaks lies instead of truth (3).
It brings harm to others (4).
But behind the tongue is the heart. And in Doeg was a heart that trusted in money and which desired more and more of it. And it didn’t matter to him who his words destroyed. (7)
How about you? What is in your heart? Jesus said,
For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.
But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. (Matthew 12:34-36)
For David, what mattered was his relationship with God. That was what was in his heart. His trust wasn’t in money or anything else. Instead, he said,
I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. (Psalm 52:8)
So what came out of David’s mouth was not words that destroyed. Rather it was words of praise and encouragement for the people of God. He said,
I will praise you forever for what you have done;
in your name I will hope, for your name is good.
I will praise you in the presence of your saints. (9)
What kind of words does your heart bring forth?
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 