The Tongue

Have you ever thought about your tongue?

Okay, a weird question but it got your attention didn't it? Do you ever say something that you regret the moment it comes out of your mouth? Recently, I did this very thing. I was tired and frustrated with my oldest daughter and before I could stop it my tongue was in action. It was like I was spewing poison. The look on her face told it all. The next day I asked her to forgive me but I also gave some excuses trying to make myself feel better. But scripture kept coming to mind and then my favorite ministry website devotion that day spoke directly about this problem of the tongue. Yes, God speaks to us through many means and he was getting my attention!! I have this problem of speaking before thinking. Although I have improved over the years I find myself backsliding sometimes. As I looked over the last couple of months I could see words coming out of my mouth that I was not very proud of. In the devotion I read that day the author had us read a passage from James.

"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 person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." James 3:3-6


Those are extremely harsh words! God wants us to understand though how important this issue is and that we need to work on taming the tongue. James goes on to say in the this section that no man can tame the tongue. I believe that to be true. No man can tame the tongue but Jesus can for us. If we ask him to help us with this problem he will! In Proverbs we read,

"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."
Proverbs 12:18

Jesus is the tongue of the wise. He is the wisdom that we need to heal up the wounds that we as sinners make. Only with him will we be able to tame our tongues. My plan is to ask Jesus to be my wisdom every day. Won't you join me in making this request my friends?