The Power Of The Tongue

One day, Rob and Shimone Bengal turned to his servant Tavi and said to him, "Tavi, please go to the marketplace and buy me the best food you can possibly find." Tavi went out to the market, walked among the various stalls, and examined all the foods being offered for sale. He looked at the fresh fruits, the seasonal vegetables, the fish that had just been brought in from the sea, and the meats, the finest cuts. Afterward, Tavi decided to buy just one thing, an ox tongue. After some time, Raven Shimone called Tavi again and said to him, "Tavi, this time go to the market and buy me the worst food you can find." Once again, Tavi went to the market and bought Robin Shimone and ox tongue just like the previous time. When Tavi returned and served his master tongue once again, Robin Shimone was surprised and asked him, "How is it that when I tell you to buy good food, you bring me tongue? And when I tell you to buy bad food, you also bring me tongue." How is it possible that the same food can be both the best and the worst? Tavi replied, "The tongue holds the power to create goodness, though it also has the power to harm." When the tongue is good, there is nothing better than it. But when the tongue is bad, there is nothing worse in the world. This story teaches us about the great responsibility each of us has in choosing the words that come out of our mouths. With that very same tongue, we can bless, praise, comfort, and pray. But we can also insult, hurt, and heaven forbid, speak badly of others. Let us all strengthen ourselves in guarding our speech because only good things can come from it.