How To Hold My Tongue: Part 3
OPENING PRAYER:
Our Father who is in heaven, may your name be kept holy. I come now to grow closer in my relationship with you. Refine my heart from your word. Grant me understanding and courage to put into practice what I learn. In Jesus name, amen.
READ:
“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” James 3:1-6 (NIV)
“Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.” Proverbs 13:3 (NIV)
"Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.” Proverbs 21:23 (NIV)
REFLECT:
In the James passage today, the writer reminds us that the tongue is small but very mighty. Teachers use the tongue more than most and therefore are held to greater accountability in how they speak. Only those with greater spiritual maturity can be successful. You see, there are so many ways to do damage with our words – “gossip, lying, slander, critical speech (even when true), harsh words, insults, sarcasm and ridicule. In fact, we would have to say that any speech that tends to tear down another person – either someone we are talking about or someone we are talking to – is sinful speech”, according to Jerry Bridges in his book Respectable Sins. Despite what we often think, James describes the tongue’s misuse as a forest fire, a “world of evil”, and something that corrupts us to the core and sabotages our future when under evil’s control.
Growing up, I knew that dad meant business when he had to repeat just once something important that he had already told me ….and especially if that came with the use of my middle name. The two verses of warning from Proverbs in today’s reading are just part of 60 such warnings about our speech in that book of the Bible alone. Sixty! That must deserve a listen and application, right?
Another memory of my father that seems applicable was when he taught me to hunt. I was so anxious to go along and get to shoot the shotgun. However, we only got to the hunting part after hours of safety training on how to handle a firearm. How to carry, where to point the barrel, how to always use the safety except when ready to fire. His belabored emphasis in this safety training was because the results of not handling a weapon properly could be fatal. I must believe that God’s word is attempting to drive home that safety lesson about our words, and their power, even more emphatically.
APPLY:
We need to take our speech much more seriously than we often do. We must be hyper-vigilant in asking God to grant us Godliness in this area of our lives. Remember, we will have to “give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they (we) have spoken”. Matthew 12:36 NIV
Our continued prayer is “help me to guard my words whenever I say something.” Psalms 141:3 CEV. If you haven’t already, memorize this and put it into practice. To do otherwise is to be irresponsible with incredible firepower.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, I give you my mouth and tongue today. I ask you to be in control of what, when and how they are used. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Amen
WORSHIP: