God's Coaching #295

God's Coaching #295

Scientists say the tongue is one of the strongest muscles in the human body. Your heart probably works more as it pumps blood to keep you alive. But your tongue almost never stops working. It flaps around when you talk. It directs food and water down your throat when you eat or drink. It even works when you’re asleep to keep you from choking on saliva. Ewww. Your tongue may be pretty strong, but Thomas Blackthorne’s tongue was known for being the strongest.

In 2008, Thomas set the world record for amount of weight lifted by the tongue as he pulled up more than 27½ pounds. To perform this amazing feat, Thomas put a hook through his tongue and attached it to a huge weight on the ground. Then he slowly raised his head until the weight lifted off the ground. By lifting that much weight with his tongue, Thomas broke his own Guinness World Record.

What’s the Score?

To be fair, Thomas’s tongue didn’t do a whole lot of the lifting. He mainly used his back and leg muscles to get the weight off the ground. But his tongue did hold the massive weight without ripping. Yuck!

The Bible talks a lot about the power of the tongue. God isn’t impressed with how much weight you can lift with your tongue or how strong it is. He cares about how you use your tongue. Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death” (NIV). That’s a lot of power! That verse doesn’t mean your tongue can literally kill (although cruel words can wound deeply). It does mean that the words you say are important. By using kind words and by being friendly, you can draw a lot of friends to yourself and help them find new life in Jesus Christ. But if your words are mean, you’ll have a difficult time.

On the Ball

What would your friends say about you? Are your words kind, or do they bite with cruelty? The way people look at you is greatly determined by your words, so use the power of your tongue carefully.

Coach’s Comment

The tongue has the power of life and death. Proverbs 18:21 (NIV)