Life and Death Are in the Power of the Tongue Disrespectful speech is on the rise. What does the Bible say about the way we communicate and the life-and-death power of our words? How can we improve?
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ise King Solomon noted the immense power of speech when he said: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). We continue to see the truth of this proverb played out today. Unfortunately, rude and disparaging discourse has escalated around the world. Studies over several years by Weber Shandwick and KRC Research have found that “Americans continue to report that incivility is harming America’s future, our standing in the
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world and our democracy” (Civility in America 2019: Solutions for Tomorrow). In their 2019 report the researchers wrote: “This year’s study finds once again that Americans have a deep concern about the state of civility in our nation. Our results show that the vast majority of Americans—93%— identify incivility as a problem, with most classifying it as a ‘major’ problem (68%). This disturbing rate has changed little since 2010.”
DISCERN
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