Is your mouth a well of life?

I love wells. They remind me of the country. They give life because the community can come and draw life-giving water any time they need it. A well is connected to a huge underground stream of clean, pure water so it can provide this precious substance to a community for years to come. Proverbs 10:11 says: “The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life”. This is so important to understand because we speak from the abundance of our hearts. We can either give life-giving wisdom, love, inspiration and truth, or depending on what stream we are connected to, we can release hate, fear, doubt, confusion and deception among other things. The tongue can defile the whole body. The tongue can bless or curse. The power of life and death is in the power of the tongue (James 3, Proverbs 18:21). The Apostle James reminded us that we need to be very careful as to how we use our mouths. Our communication is part of the way that the Holy Spirit ministers through us. Even the Gospel of Jesus Christ cannot be known unless we use our mouths and speak it! So the Apostle reminds us of this powerful truth: “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh” (James 3:10-12). What do people draw from your well? Selah.