Taming the Tongue

James 3:5-10Amplified Bible (AMP) Even so the tongue is a little member, and it can boast of great things. See how much wood or how great a forest a tiny spark can set ablaze! And the tongue is a fire. [The tongue is a] world of wickedness set among our members, contaminating and depraving the whole body and setting on fire the wheel of birth (the cycle of man's nature), being itself ignited by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea animal, can be tamed and has been tamed by human genius (nature). But the human tongue can be tamed by no man. It is a restless (undisciplined, irreconcilable) evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who were made in God's likeness! Out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing. These things, my brethren, ought not to be so.

Has there ever been a time in your life when someone has really hurt, yelled, or slammed you down for one reason or another? Of course there has! We’ve all been there; we have all felt the knife being stabbed into our backs by our friends or family. It's during these times when we so badly want to speak our minds instead of what we know in our hearts Jesus would have us do.

Being able to write, I compose a masterpiece of my thoughts. Not only am I hurt, I want to let the offender know how they made me feel. Halfway through the letter, I look down and frown. What am I doing? Even though I want so desperately to put my feelings on paper, I bite my lip, walk away, and that is taming my tongue. This is not something that comes easily, I can assure you! The venting on paper helps me get out the first flush of pain or anger but, thankfully, the Lord keeps me from pushing forward and wounding with words. Over the years, it has gotten easier and more times than not, I do not even have to write things down now.

I have learned, over the course of time and only by the grace of God, to hold my tongue more often than not. This was not always so, believe me. My mind processes quickly and I could chew someone up and spit them out before they even realized they had been bit. Not a trait I was proud of once I gave my life over to the Lord. I gave Him dominion over my tongue and asked Him to help me stop saying things just because I could. Friends, our tongues can be sharper than a two-edged sword – Scripture says so. Where wounds will someday heal, a wrong word can scar a person.

I have learned, too, my first reaction may be skewed and colored by emotion. Do I really want my emotions in charge of my words? NO! They aren’t very selective or intelligent or sensitive to anyone, other than me, in general. By taming my tongue, I give myself time to pray, ponder and seek counsel wiser than myself. Many times the issue is over and resolved, requiring no further discussion. Other times, a cooler head prevails and wisdom is able to reign over verbal terrorism.

Most of us have dealt with the same situation. No matter what happened, there is only one place for us to go with our problem, only one thing to do, and it all starts by getting on our knees. When all leave us and forsake us, there will always be One with us. When a heart is broken, a verbal punch thrown, or a temper lost, He has time and time again shown us when all else fails, the love of the Lord always shines through.

May peace be with you.