Skip to content

Proverbs 18:14

Proverbs 18:14

layers Part 53 of 82 menu_book More on Proverbs lightbulb 2 illustrations in this sermon

Pastor Martin expounds Proverbs 18:14, contrasting the physical pain inflicted by a rod with the deeper, more destructive wound caused by a 'wounded spirit' inflicted by the tongue. He argues that while physical abuse may not break a person's spirit, the tongue can utterly devastate it, making it a more destructive force. Martin then applies this truth to parents, admonishing them to teach their children about the power of the tongue and to faithfully discipline them when they use their words to wound others.

Primary Texts

menu_book
Proverbs 18:14 This is the primary text, directly quoted and expounded to contrast physical and spiritual wounds.

Outline 4 sections · 2 min

  1. The Resilience of the Spirit Against Physical Harm 0:00
  2. The Destructive Power of the Tongue 1:02
  3. Application: Misuse of the Tongue in Families 1:26
  4. Parental Responsibility for Training the Tongue 1:40

Key Quotes

“Tongue can do what the widest strap and the thickest rod cannot do. A strap and a rod can break a man's skin or a man's bones, but they can't break his spirit.”
“There's something noble about an upright spirit speaking through a broken, bruised, abused, and almost dead body, a la Stephen.”
“But the tongue. Can get in and pummel and break the human spirit. In which is more destructive of a person's humanity? The breaking of the bones or the breaking of the spirit?”
“Some of you have used your tongue as a devilish, demonic rod to break the spirit of others. Some of you do it with your wives. Some of you do it with your children.”
“And when admonition doesn't work, you bring the rod of correction to enforce it. You say, I will not turn loose.”

Applications

All listeners

  • Recognize if you have used your tongue as a 'devilish, demonic rod' to break the spirit of your wife or children.
  • Sit your children down, take these texts, and admonish them about the power of their tongue.
  • If admonition doesn't work and your children continue to bruise others with their tongue, use the rod of correction to enforce the teaching.

A full transcript is available on the tab. 9 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes.

More from the archive

If this spoke to you, hear also…