Evil Tongue 恶舌

Tongues are powerful and Aesop regarded the tongues as the best and worst food. Surely a tongue can build up or destroy. According to a proverb, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

Undoubtedly, a vocalised fake news is equally destructive even though it is released by asking a question, “Is it true or fake?” This type of news may not be true yet it can provoke the hearers to think negatively. Certainly in a society which promotes freedom of speech, there should not be any dictatorial control of speech. However, how should we use our tongues to build up and promote good words?

We should guard ourselves from speaking the false news. However, we should not be indifferent of the negative influence of our society. Therefore, we need to speak the truth in love when talking about the negative news which is true at the right time to the right person. There are three conditions in which we can talk about the negative thing which is true.

First, it is for protection that we can talk about the negative which is true. For example, if we know of somebody is at the verge of being cheated, it is necessary for us to alert the person by telling him/her regarding the evil scheme he/she is facing.

Second, it is for correction that we have to speak the truth in love. We may have to tell a person about his/her wrong so that he/she can change accordingly. Usually we are reluctant because we don’t want to offend the person.

Third, we can talk about what is negative in a time of counselling. When a person is seeking counsel, negative thing is usually mentioned, and this is part of the process of a counselling session with the hope of receiving emotional healing or finding a relevant solution.

舌头具有强大的力量。伊索以舌头作为最好和最壞的食物。舌头可以建立，亦可以摧毁。根据一句箴言: “生死在舌頭的權下!”

毫无疑问，即使是通过先提出一道问题，”这是真的还是假的呢?” 来发布一则假消息，它还是会造成破坏。即使是假的，然而通常还是会导致聴者產生负面的思想。当然，在一个言论自由的社会，不应该采取專制的措施限制言论自由。然而，作为有情操的人，我们应该如何善用舌头来建立和促进佳言呢？

我们应该避免传播假消息。另一方面，我们也必须关注社会的动向和週圍的人。因此，我们需要在適当的时间向合適対象讲述负面事情的真相。我们可以在三种情况谈论真实的负面事情。

首先，为了达到保护作用我们可以谈及负面的事实。例如，假如我们知道某人即将被骗，我们有必要告诉他有关他所面临的情况，並提醒他作必要的防備。

其次，我们必须在爱中说真话以纠正错误。我们面对一个人犯错的时候，我们勇以纠正劝勉乃是幫助他。通常我们不情愿向那个人说真话是因为我们不想冒犯他。

第三，我们可以在輔导时谈论到负面的事。当一个人寻求輔导几乎都会提到负面的事情，这其实是輔导过程的一部分，目的是要舒解情绪或是寻找解决之道。

(Picture is from the internet,
圖片来自网络)