guns and tongues

James eloquently teaches us of the power of the tongue, which is used to teach and to bless but also to do harm.  Of course the tongue doesn't act by itself...it is wired to our hearts and whatever fills us on the inside will eventually overflow in our speech.  The careful choice of words can provide control, as the bit in a horse's mouth directs that large animal.  The spoken word resembles a ship's rudder.  There is something about speaking about a commitment of the heart that solidifies that direction.  Perhaps that is why marriage vows are spoken publicly and why the believer is exhorted to confess his salvation to others.  If our heart is ruled by unruly thoughts and evil desire our speech can spread that evil, something like napalm spreading fire across the battlefields of Viet Nam.  Like a gun, the impact of our words can be like bullets, causing lasting damage.  It seems that the key to controlling the tongue is to (1) first acknowledge that we cannot control it in our own strength and (2) fuel our hearts from healthy minds that are fixed on the words spoken and inspired by the one Heavenly Tongue we can trust. 

James 3: ³ Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. ⁴ Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. ⁵Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things...

 ⁸ But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. ¹¹ Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? ¹² Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

 

May His words become our words and may our speech be a spring of fresh water to others.

 

blessings,

Rob Smith