Taming the Tongue

Taming the Tongue

(great topic for a blog lol)

God created us with the ability to communicate. One way we communicate is by talking. It has been said that “talk is cheap.” Growing up I can remember sayings like “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” or “I’m rubber your glue whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.” With sayings like these it’s easy to see how we can be deceived into believing that words and talking have no power, but in fact the opposite is true. Just ask someone who’s “love language” is “Words of Affirmation.”

The Bible teaches us that when God spoke He created the Heavens and the earth. In Genesis 1 every time it says “God said” something was created. In verses 26, 27 it also says that “God created man in His own image.” Take a minute and think about that. In the same way God created (by speaking) He has also given us an often unrecognized ability to give or to take life (by speaking).
 

Proverbs 13:2-3

² A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth,
But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.
³ He who guards his mouth preserves his life,
But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

† Proverbs 18:21

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

Proverbs 21:23

²³ Whoever guards his mouth and tongue
Keeps his soul from troubles.

The power over life and death is in the tongue.
Have you ever been around a person who spends all their time talking about other people; Or speaks as if they “Done that, been there, know that” constantly. 
One way to test a person’s spiritual maturity is to observe their ability to “tame their tongue.”
Some of the best conversations I ever had were done with minimum words. If you have you ever been around someone who solved your problem(s) without saying a word you know what I am taking about.

James 1:26
²⁶ If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.

James 3:1-12

¹My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. ² For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. ³ Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. ⁴ Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. ⁵ Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.

See how great a forest a little fire kindles! ⁶ And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. ⁷ For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. ⁸ But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

⁹ With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. ¹¹ Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? ¹² Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

From this we can gather that the tongue is actually quite powerful. 

·         It is powerful in its ability to guide people. From the start the warning to those who would teach is straight forward. (Stricter Judgment)

We must be aware of its power to influence others for good or bad. Teachers must always be aware not to teach their own agenda but to be led by the Holy Spirit.

Even the slightest change in vocabulary can set the course in a completely different direction.

If someone is lead by the Holy Spirit then their tongue can be used to encourage and give life, “To preach the Gospel (good news) to the poor” “To heal the broken hearted”

·         The tongue is powerful in its ability to “defile the whole body.”

Little white lies are never little, and gossip is never harmless. In Proverbs 6:16-19, God lists seven things that He “hates.” Three of them are about the use of the tongue. He hates “a lying tongue”, “a false witness who speaks lies”, and “one who sows discord among brethren”.

Just a little bit of gossip will disqualify a person to worship in the presence of God, (Psalm 15:1-3) and there is no better place than in the presence of God.

In 2 Timothy 3 Paul warns that in the last days some will maintain a show of Christianity but as ‘gossipers’ be considered to be the most rebellious and destructive in the church.

·         The tongue also has great power to bless or curse. We can praise, worship, and bless God. We can “Proclaim liberty.” We can bless or curse people. Just as God spoke life into creation we also can decree life into the lives of those around us. Or we can curse those around us.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

God gave us the power of speech to bless, encourage, and bring life to others. But our ability to speak can also become a tool for destruction by speaking curses or words that wound and cause division and strife.

There is a Japanese proverb that says, “A tongue 3 inches long can kill a man 6 feet tall.”

Too often we don’t realize the life or death that comes from a spoken word to someone. Recently I received a message from a family member who went in for some medical tests. It was reported to them that they may have a form of cancer that should be reported to family members because of its likely hood of being genetic. When I was told that I needed to be tested immediately the Holy Spirit threw out a red flag for me, and gave me the words “Not me! Death and deception have no power over me; I belong to the kingdom of life!”

I would not and will not receive a word like that spoken over my life or the lives of my kids. We belong to the Kingdom of God and I will not allow the enemy strong holds to bring us down. I encourage you to do the same!

We often get reports from doctors saying our family history shows that we should get tested. Just by decreeing such a thing sends out a curse; but those who have been bought by the blood of Jesus no longer have to suffer under such curses. Instead we can grab hold of the life God gives, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and then speak life into those around us! Guard yourself from the undisciplined words that others might speak. Strike down any words of death or deceit and refuse to receive it. Then speak words of life into your own life and into the lives of others.

Jesus I will never be able to thank you enough for the sacrifice you gave that we can be together. Jesus thank you for loving me so much that you gave your life as a ransom for mine. Father thank you for the grace you give to empower us to live fully and abundantly in Christ. Holy Spirit thank you for the comfort and knowledge that you bring me, as I put my trust and faith in Christ. Give me words to declare life and encouragement into those around me. Keep me from cursing others with mindless words; instead let me purposeful in speaking life with love. I decree deliverance and victory over any and every curse ever spoken over me or my family in Jesus name. In Jesus name we are saved, healed, and delivered! Amen