"No one can tame the tongue; it is a restless [unsettled, undisciplined, unable to be restrained] evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?" James 3:8-11
REALLY? We gotta bust out with tamin' the tongue on DAY 1????
I've read this passage a hundred times, I think. But most of the time it was in a rushed scurry like bobbing through football two-a-day tires. I feared the deluge of conviction that might overcome me should I linger too long in such a direct passage.
This time I stayed. I got prayed up and stayed.
The phrase that caught my attention was "full of deadly poison". I've heard "sticks and stones might break bones..." and I've known "back-stabbing" comments. This paints a different picture. Those wounds can mend. They might scar, but they'll mend. Poison must be ingested, inhaled, or injected. It's target is the entire circulatory system.
My words have the power of life and death. (Proverbs 18:21 "Death and life are in the power of the tongue...") This is not a small deal. My haphazard speech will leave not merely a flesh wound, but a tainting of the whole circulation of the other person.
On the positive side, my words also have the capacity to heal and revive. I CAN speak blessings into the lives of my family and friends. I can speak wisdom and strength to the lost and weary.
I LOVE to worship our Creator. But with similar ease, I find myself criticizing so much of His creation. The other night, I enjoyed an hour of "Praise Father, Son & Holy Ghost". Then, in the 3 minutes it took to get to my car, I complained about 5 or 6 humans, dogged the fact that there were ugly nails in the walls of our freshly painted church house, and ultimately griped about the weather.
"[Sist]ern, these things ought not be this way!" Hello?
Thank You, Father, for Your Word. It is alive and powerful. Thank You for even wanting to try to teach me ONE MORE TIME, the truths I should already know. Your patience is amazing. I DO love You...help me demonstrate my love for You by loving Your creation too. Give me words to speak so that I might shine Your love and light into people's live. Guard my heart so that the words of my mouth will be pleasing.
Bless all my sisters who are studying this same passage. Speak to us. We want to hear You and respond.
