BITE YOUR TONGUE

James 3:8

“But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”

If I asked you to raise your hand if you ever said something you regretted, I imagine every honest hand would go up. Words are dangerous.

Do you love to talk? Then listen to Solomon’s wise counsel to his son. He wrote that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” It was a clear warning that those who love to talk will have to abide by the consequences of their words. If your words are kind and edifying, they will contribute to the sweet fruit of your own life and health. But if your words are foul and full of gossip, then the fruit of your language will be very bitter.

BITE YOUR TONGUE

Your words are a peek at what’s in and on your mind. What you say is what you are thinking. Some people do a whole lot of talking but very little thinking. And it gets them into trouble. When we hear them speak, we say things like: ‘There he goes, flapping his jaw again.’ We refer to them as chatterboxes, or windbags, or blabbermouths.

Words can cause misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and even lead to conflict. Sometimes it’s intentional and offensive. Other times it’s just plain thoughtlessness. We might as well admit it. At times, we’re all guilty of speaking without much thinking.

The third chapter of James spells out the vast importance of our words…those sounds that our tongues make. So let’s take a look at this tongue of ours… the power of the tongue, the purpose of the tongue, and the penalty for a loose tongue.

First, there is the Power of the Tongue.

James says that a man cannot tame his tongue. He has no power over what his tongue spews out. But does that mean that we are all doomed to say things we should not say?

What is speech anyway, but an instinctive, quick expression spoken at the impulse of the mind or the heart. However, since acting on impulse can be right or wrong, that’s where it becomes difficult to control our tongue. A wise preacher once gave this advice. He said, “Think twice before you speak once.”

Our words have the power to uplift, enrich and inspire. Many of us have been recipients of kind encouragement from mentors desiring to see us succeed. Maybe it was a school teacher, or a family member, a friend, or even your pastor.

But while words have the power to uplift, they also have the power to dishearten, demoralize and discourage. Words that bite are not soon forgotten. They haunt the recipient and force him to remember what he might otherwise wish to forget.

James says the tongue cannot be controlled…by man. But the man or woman who allows the Holy Ghost to restrain his tongue becomes the master, not just of his WORDS, but of his whole body. James says that “if any man offend NOT in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” (3:2) Paul told the church at Corinth the same thing, He told them he had learned to bring his body “into subjection” (1 Corinthians 9:27)…to the Spirit. In other words, it’s one thing to control your actions, but it’s an even greater blessing to be able to control your impulses, your purpose and your passions, because it is those things that show up in your actions…and in your words.

James gives us two examples of the benefit of learning self-control. First, he says that we put a bit in a horse’s mouth to turn his whole body. Imagine how little the farmer would get done if he could not control the direction of the horse that pulls his plow! Second, James says that we put rudders on ships, so we can steer them through fierce winds. Without a rudder (the helm), the unmanned ship would sink.

It’s all about allowing the Holy Ghost to control what comes out of our mouths. We have James to thank for the inspiration for our modern-day expression…. “Loose lips sink ships!” But if we are going to learn how to bridle our tongues, we must first let the Holy Ghost take control of our bodies. Only the Holy Ghost knows how to bridle the unruly passions of our heart. (James 3:3-4). James call the tongue a “fire”. As little as that member of our body is, it can kindle a great fire (3:5-6). An unbridled tongue can expose a man’s unbridled nature. So until the Holy Ghost is invited in, it’s best for a man, or woman, to keep his mouth closed.

The Power of the Tongue.

Second, there is the Purpose of the Tongue.

The purpose of the tongue is to praise God! The tongue is supposed to be a holy member of our spiritual bodies. Our bodies belong to the Lord. After all, He created us! He gave us a tongue to praise Him! Unfortunately, with the same tongue that we bless God, we often curse men who are made in the image of God (James 3:9). Some of us can say ‘OUCH’ right there. We bless God for the Cross, and then we curse men using the name of our Lord Jesus Christ who was crucified on that cross. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

Blessings and curses coming from the same mouth are an unnatural use of the tongue. It is inconsistent with its purpose. It’s completely unnatural for the tongue to speak a word of sweet and harmonious praise, and then to spew out a torrent of bitter slander or a stream of curses. Yet too many believers seem to suffer from this contradiction. Why? The answer is simple. It’s because the fountain of their heart’s old nature has not yet completely dried up! They need to have the blood of Jesus Christ poured into their life’s bitter stream, to sweeten it and make it a river of living water!

The Purpose of the Tongue.

Finally, there is the Penalty for a Loose Tongue.

Hold onto your seats because this is serious. It’s bad enough when we inflict harm with our words. Wounding words have spoiled friendships, tainted marriages, ruined careers, and even scared children for life. You would think that’s bad enough. But it gets even worse.

Did you know that your tongue is part controller of your destiny? I didn’t say it. Jesus did! Jesus said, “But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” (Matthew 12:36-37).

Let’s tear that apart.

· “Every idle word that men speak” – That’s every word that is morally or ethically useless, and most often slanderous. Those snide comments. Those callous digs. The phone conjecture…Let’s call it what it is: GOSSIP that has no basis in fact. Those spurts of anger. Those outright lies. It’s all just idle words that have no usefulness in the Kingdom of God.

· “…they shall give account…in the day of judgment” – It will all be played back when it’s your turn to stand before GOD and see the replay of your life. For Believers, it’s called the Bema Judgment, or the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10). The Romans and the Corinthians were very familiar with BEMA. It was a judicial place where athletes who competed in the Isthmian games would stand before the judge and attest that he had competed ‘according to the rules’. When it’s your Day of Judgment, will you be able to tell Christ you played by His rules?

· “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Will your WORDS justify you or condemn you? In that day when your “idle words” are judged, your rewards (or crowns) will be GRANTED or LOST depending on how you used your life in service for the LORD.

It makes you think, doesn’t it? Let me help you.

· What did you say over the fence to that neighbor who irritated you? Was it pleasing to God?

· What did you say to the co-worker whose political views shocked you? Did it please God?

· What did you say to the young child who ran past you and slammed the door in your face? Did it please God?

· What did you say under your breath about the Deacon who forgot your name, or the Missionary who didn’t visit you when you were sick, or the pastor who didn’t mention your generous donation? Did those words please God?

We could keep going, but you see the point. Man cannot bridle his own tongue. James surely got that right! You may find it hard to bite your tongue, but God has a solution. It’s called submission or surrender. The only way to make your words pleasing to God is to surrender yourself to His Will and His Way. ‘The proof is in the pudding’, as we say. When we surrender our SPEECH to the LORD, it is evidence that we have surrendered wholly and completely. “If any man offend NOT in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.”

We sing, ‘I’m yours Lord, try me now and see, see if I can be completely yours.’ Are you ready to turn your tongue over to Christ? Will you surrender your thoughts? Will you surrender your impulses? Will you surrender your purpose, your passions, and your potential? Will you surrender your ambitions and your aspirations?

Above all, will you surrender your unruly tongue? You can’t bite your tongue without God’s help. Will you allow the Lord to bridle your tongue and reign in your whole body, till it meets with His divine approval?