Watch Your Mouth!

Tongue Taming

Handfuls on Purpose for Christian Workers and Bible Students, Series I–XIII The Tongue (James 1:19, 26; 3)

A young man was sent to Socrates to learn oratory. On being introduced to the philosopher he talked so incessantly that Socrates asked for double fees. “Why charge me double?” asked the young fellow. “Because,” replied the orator, “I must teach you two sciences, the one how to hold your tongue, the other how to speak.”

Does anybody else suffer from foot in mouth syndrome?

A big part of our witness is what we say and how we say it.

If we want to follow Jesus and make disciples, we must consider taming our tongue

James 3:7–8 CSB

7 Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

God’s word said we can’t do it, guess we just give up.… Wrong-O!

Psalm 33:16–19 CSB

16 A king is not saved by a large army; a warrior will not be rescued by great strength. 17 The horse is a false hope for safety; it provides no escape by its great power. 18 But look, the Lord keeps his eye on those who fear him— those who depend on his faithful love 19 to rescue them from death and to keep them alive in famine.

One lesson we must drive deep in our hearts is that we can not rely on our strength or our ability.

All of the self help books, psychologists, psychiatrists, and experts in the world can’t help you tame your tongue.

Only God can

The Dangers of the Tongue

1. It Governs Your Directions

James 3:3–5 CSB

3 Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we direct their whole bodies. 4 And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest.

You’ve heard people say “you are what you eat” but I’ll say you are what you speak

You have the name it and claim it crowd, and you have those who believe in the law of attraction

There are grains of truth in both because the tongue is powerful

Proverbs 18:21 CSB

21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

2. It’s Destructive

James 3:5–6 CSB

5 So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

Proverbs 26:20–22 CSB

20 Without wood, fire goes out; without a gossip, conflict dies down. 21 As charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife. 22 A gossip’s words are like choice food that goes down to one’s innermost being.

I’ve been guilty lately of asking for the drama.

Words are not just words. They have weight and thrown about carelessly they will destroy families, friendships, and entire congregations.

Gossip, Quarreling, and lying are all things we do with our tongue that destroy lives

3. It Exposes

James 3:13–16 CSB

13 Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and deny the truth. 15 Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice.

Matthew 12:34–37 CSB

34 Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. 35 A good person produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil person produces evil things from his storeroom of evil. 36 I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

There is a judgement coming for our idle words. I believe this judgement is different than a hell punishment because Jesus says we will all face it.

Matthew 15:16–20 CSB

16 “Do you still lack understanding?” he asked. 17 “Don’t you realize that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander. 20 These are the things that defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”

It doesn’t start in the mouth, but your mouth confirms a deeper reality

Have you ever said “I didn’t mean that?”

The bible confirms that was a lie. Some part of you did. It may be a part of you that you are at war with trying to overcome or a part of you that you deny exists but nothing is said that didn’t come from your heart first

Wrapping Up: What’s the Big Deal?

Why should we care about what we say?

Colossians 4:5–6 CSB

5 Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.

James 1:26 CSB

26 If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself.

Titus 2:6–8 CSB

6 In the same way, encourage the young men to be self-controlled 7 in everything. Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching. 8 Your message is to be sound beyond reproach, so that any opponent will be ashamed, because he doesn’t have anything bad to say about us.

We use our speech to convey the gospel

Inevitably, our speech will either prove or disprove the gospel within us

Billy Graham preached to millions but it wasn’t the fact that he filled up stadiums that set him apart. His speech was so sincere that even journalists who weren’t Christian commented “You can’t accuse him of dishonesty. His words were truthful, gracious, and above reproach”.

To get to the make disciple phase, we need to get people to salvation first. One of the best ways we can do that is to watch our mouth, and to make sure we are not adding to the problem.