Wisdom's Corner
Like a Sharp Knife

Knives can be very sharp. Young children should not play with knives. You can get hurt playing with knives. But knives are very useful. They are used to cut things up. Your parents may use them to cut up your meat at a meal.

Unfortunately, some people use knives for the wrong reason. Because they are sharp, knives can be used as a weapon. Evil people will use them to cut or stab other people. And usually the evil person does this by sneaking up on the person they want to hurt. God does not like this.

God says that a person who does not control his tongue is just like the evil person who uses a knife wrongly. In Psalm 52:2, we read, "Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully." The word "razor" is the word for "knife" in Hebrew. In the next verses, these people are said to love evil more than good. When you speak wrongly, you can hurt people badly. You may not be hurting them physically with a knife, but you can be hurting them spiritually.

God says in verse 5 that he will destroy those who use their tongue like this. Learn to control your tongue. Do not let your speech be like the sharp knife that hurts people.

Until next time, keep reading your Bible so that you will know the right way to use your tongue. And if any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.

Mark McWhorter

Copyright 1999

Published by The Old Paths Bible School
(http://www.oldpaths.org)