Beardtongue

Beardtongue is an attractive plant which has a long ‘tongue’ coming out of its flower. I don’t think this is its best feature but it’s the one for which it is known and after which it‘s named. Likewise, the words we speak, pronounced by the tongue, are so often used to define us. They reveal the fulness of our hearts and our inner-man’s thought. We should therefore watch and guard what we say. Careless remarks, flippant comments, gossipy observations, whispered deceits -all damage and cause untold harm. Says David in Psalm 12:3:

The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things.

Adds his son in Ecclesiastes 5:2:

Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.