"Many things are opened by mistake, but none so frequently as the mouth."
James 3:8 " But the tongue can no man tame, it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison."
We all know that our words carry power. We use them for encouragement and as an instrument to hurt others feelings. We are told that we praise God and curse man in the same breath. Most of us have spoken before actually giving thought to the affects our words may have. Man has the power to control many things in this world, but when it comes to the tongue, it is his hardest challenge. Getting a handle on how we use our words is an ongoing battle. King David knew that the tongue was something to be controlled and disciplined, and how we needed to be careful of our thoughts. He said to the Lord in
Psalm 39:1 and Psalm 141:3
"I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle."
"Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips."
God can help us with this battle, if we keep His word in our hearts. We learn through scripture that the tongue has the power to bring life or death both spiritually and physically.
Proverbs 16:24 " Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones."
Proverbs 15:26 " The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord."
Matthew 15:11 " It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person."
Matthew 12:36-37 "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgement. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
In our obedience to Christ, we must learn to monitor our every thought. A Christian's heart is made known by the words he/she speaks. God gave everyone free will, so we must then choose what we say wisely. There are some truths about the tongue we need to keep in mind:
- we will be held accountable for what we say
- we should know its power for good and evil
- we should know that it is an untameable source of evil for all humans
- we should know that what's in the heart will pour forth out of the mouth
Proverbs 4:23 " Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flows the springs of life."
James 3:6 " 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."
We must train our thoughts with the word of God. It's going to take prayer and a lot practice to train the mind to be as Christ's. This should be every Christian's aim in life, to bring the tongue into submission with Christ. Jesus Christ never spoke an ill word of another. We're told that a soft answer will turn away wrath. Meaning we don't have to respond negatively when we are mistreated. Instead season our words with kindness and watch the anger of another fade away. Have you ever been at the drive-thru and the person taking your order is rude for no reason. You, who are a Christian respond with a smile that can't be seen and politely place your order, then thank them and wish them a blessed day. When you drive around to pay,
you notice a change in attitude. That's what it means to season your speech with salt, instead of taking offense.
We must learn to constantly keep the tongue from being an evil tool in which we allow the devil to have a foothold to keep us from serving God. I think that Satan uses what we say get us to stray further and further away from true worship. He's more aware of the power of the tongue than we give him credit for. We know that he's a cunning and sly devil, using our thoughts against us. All the more reason to stay in the word of God to able to resist the ways he tries to hinder us in developing our relationship with our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. We will never be free from the devil's attempts to keep us from God, it is his mission on this earth. We know the he is the prince of the air, and woe to us living on earth, because Satan has come to destroy your relationship with the Father as he destroyed his.
We can not allow Satan to deter us from what is right and also the will of God. Let's not forget that he is the author of lies and confusion. He often distorts our view when it comes to us worshiping and praising God. His goal is ultimately our "Spiritual Death", so that we don't get to enjoy the gift of eternal life. Jesus gives life, but Satan gives death and a life in an eternal hell. I know that I can't imagine living in a place where I'd be tormented forever. However, I can imagine living in peace with my fellow man and praising and worshiping God without all of the troubles of this present world.
Paul told us, he'd rather be with Jesus than live on earth, for it is a better place. But he knew that he had work to do before he would get the honor of being with our Lord. He often said those who were sleeping were much better off than those who were yet alive. We suffer temptation all the day long with Satan in our midst. Fret not, the bible tells us that when we belong to God, he won't allow us to be tempted more than we will be able to bear. When you belong to the Father above, there are many things you have access to. He's given us a way to live through the power of His Holy Word!
Recognize that you will always at war with the powerful tongue, and need to subject it to captivity in the Lord Jesus Christ. You can't do this by yourself, but you can with the help of the Lord. We always have help from above when we need it. All we have to do is call on the sweet name of Jesus Christ and see the power that can not be touched.
God Bless Us All!
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