Is your tongue full of deadly poison? It's called deadly poison because reputations of honest and innocent people can be destroyed by what has been said about them. What is on your tongue? When you open your mouth, do words of grace, kindness and wisdom pour forth? Have you built up people by your tongue or have you shattered those connections because of the wrong use? A bridge is a connector. Building bridges by what we say in our personal lives can connect us with others or connect other people with each other. The book of Proverbs offers a great deal of insight into how we use our speech: "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" (Proverbs 15:1). "A wholesome tongue is a tree of life" (Proverbs 15:4). "Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones" (Proverbs 16:24). "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver" (Proverbs 25:11). When someone says something negative about someone else, do you say something that will build a bridge, or do you chime in and add to the negativity, thereby destroying that bridge? We should be building bridges between people, not tearing down or destroying bridges that are already there. It is commonly taught that it takes three weeks for a habit to be formed. Can you go three weeks without saying anything negative about someone else? Can you instead turn negativity around and say something positive about someone every time you have the opportunity? Does your tongue give sweetness to the soul of others and health to their bones? Is your tongue a tree of life? What is on your tongue? UN