Good Morning Friends,
“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. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles
and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man
can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the
tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been
made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” (James
3:5-10)
The tongue is the most powerful part of your
body. The tongue can do more good than any other part of the body.
The tongue has the power to share the most
important message in the world with other people. It can affect people’s lives
for all eternity. Paul declared that “faith comes by hearing” and that hearing
requires someone to be speaking – using their tongue to share the message of
Christ.
The tongue can be used to encourage others.
I’m amazed at how universal discouragement is. People need to be praised, they
need to hear kind words, they need encouragement. Generally it is true that a
person is his own worst critic. We have the power in our tongues to help
people.
With the tongue we can praise God. That
pleases God because He loves to be worshipped. It is also good for us, praise
invites God’s presence and power in our own lives: “God inhabits the praise of
His people.”
The tongue can do amazingly good things --
and it also has the power to do amazingly harmful things!
It can discourage people by being critical
and judgmental. It can damage people’s lives by spreading lies about them, or even
spreading the truth in hurtful and unnecessary ways. It can be used to curse
God and reject Him. It can be used to boast of our own goodness and success.
And the worst thing about the tongue is that
it is the hardest part of the body to control. Many things make it out of our
mouths without us realizing what we are saying or what the effect will be. The
tongue can’t be controlled! It will spew forth what is really in our hearts.
“For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34)
The only way to move toward controlling your
tongue, is to allow God to do His work on your heart!
His, by Grace,
Steve
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