Godly Speech

August 24, 2009

        Ever wonder why the Tongue is always the greatest example of a thing that is small yet powerful? Well, it’s simply because it does great things really. The tongue ,biologically speaking, is the most powerful muscle in proportion to its size. It is the fountain of words which could make or break a person, which coul d build or destroy a relationship and which could cure or inflict pain in someone’s heart. This is why we need to take care of our tongue and see to it that we exactly  know how we are using it.

                In James 1:26 , it says there;

If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion [is] vain.

 James tells us that Godly speech,the words that come out of our mouth is a validation of faith. This is the major reason why we need to tame it. If we want to prove that our faith is genuine, we need to be cautious in every word that comes out of our mouth.  Furthermore in James 3:2-10, James warned us of the great ability of the tongue:

 

2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same [is] a perfect man, [and] able also to bridle the whole body.

3 Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.

4 Behold also the ships, which though [they be] so great, and [are] driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

6 And the tongue [is] a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

8 But the tongue can no man tame; [it is] an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

In verse 4-5, take note that the tongue is compared to as the metal strip that controls a big ship. That no matter how huge the ship is, it is driven and manuevred by a very small helm and so as the tongue.Though it is just a little member of the our anatomy ,it boasts great things for it plays a huge role in our existence as social beings and thus it is always referred to as a fire (v. 7-8).

In Proverbs 18:21, Solomon described the tongue as something  that holds death and life.

 Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

The tongue has the capacity to direct and at the same time, has the capacity to destroy. An example of this is the death of Karen Carpenter. She died at a very young age. Despite her looks and melodic voice, she was not satisfied. She was anorexic. And the reason why? Sometime in the early years of her career, a  commentator,or better said a stranger referred to her as the “Chubby sister of Richard Carpenter”. That single comment drove her to being anorexic which eventually caused her death.

                In an article cited by Pastor Christian Flores, the top 10  tongue abuses were identified. Here is the list:

TOP 10 ABUSES OF THE TONGUE

10. Bad mouthing/ Back biting

9. Slandering

8. Gossiping

7. Tongue lashing/ angry

6.Cursing

5. Boasting

4.Grumbling/ Complaining

3. Coarse joking

2. Lying

1. Using God’s name in vain

 

If we are going to look at the list  every day and count which ones do we happen to commit, one might have all of those checked. Because whether we admit it or not, often times we forget that we are christians. Or sometimes we are not that conscious of what comes out of our mouth that at the end of the day we realize that something had already gone wrong because of something we didn’t mean to say. A lot of troubles and misunderstandings arise due to wrong choice of words and the only way to avoid this is to train our tongue. We need to tame it. The question now is how?

                In v. 7-8,  James emphasized that no man can tame his tongue. Furthermore the root of the problem was mentioned in Matthew:

 

34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

-          Matt. 12:34-35

    Clearly,there is a direct relationship between the heart and the tongue. What comes out of our mouth reflects what is inside our hearts. We cannot claim that we love God and that He resides in our hearts if every now and then we blabber vicious stuff. We cannot claim that we are Christians by heart if we keep on gossiping about our neighbor’s family problems , our friends’ controversies or when we keep on cursing for the sake of personal relief. How then do we solve this problem if the problem is the heart? God clearly provides the answer. In  Ezekiel 36:26 It says there:

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh

We just need to ask God for a new heart. The challenge for us christians is to know who really controls our hearts. Who really is its jockey and captain? In Corinthians Paul tells us that in a new life, the old and the past is gone, we are a new creation with a new heart. And now that we claim that we are Christians, we must take a closer look into our hearts, scrutinize it and see who holds the key, who maneuvers it.  When we do, that’s the only time we can claim that our faith is genuine. It is when we see that the one who really owns our hearts is none other than Him, our Lord and Savior.

 

Words have the power to give life and death. We Christians can be a source of Life.