Taming the Tongue

UV 511/10,000 Taming the Tongue Jas 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison I once saw three crows sitting on a ledge on the roof of our house. Two crows were continually cawing. The one in the middle was profoundly silent. I realized that the silent crow was the real leader. Indeed, real and true leaders need not crow about their achievements or even speak for even their silence will be understood and the followers will know what he needs them to do. God is like the silent crow. His true followers understand His Word and His silences and are able to do what He needs them to do. We too must imitate the silent crow, speaking only what needs to be spoken, words that will profit the hearer and not harm him or her or harm relationships or feelings. The boneless human tongue is an immensely powerful organ. It can be used to enhance life or to produce death. Yet, why does James call it “ an unruly evil, full of deadly poison”? It is called so as when it is used indiscriminately and without discernment or discretion, it can harm our own lives, it can harm the reputation of others, it can harm relationships, it can destroy the peace of homes, the equilibrium of organizations. It is by nature venomous and being malleable can be made to turn in all directions. Just as a poisonous snake’s venom is extracted by forcing its fangs to bite into a canvas stretched tight over a vial to collect the venom, we need to have the poison extracted by having our teeth bite into the Word of God. Just as venom needs to be extracted every day as it is generated daily, we need to resort to this process of biting into the Word daily. No man and of course, no woman, too can tame or discipline his or her own tongue. But, nothing being impossible for God, He can tame and discipline our tongue over time. He gives us the power of the Holy Spirit to take control of our tongue. It has been an area of great challenge for me from the days of my youth and my life is littered with countless failures in this regard. But, the Lord promised, “ I will split your tongue and tame it.” Many believers, too have forked tongues that can pour out blessings and curses at the same time, benedictions and expletives, truths and lies. Some use it like an industrial saw to cut up people and leave behind them a long trail of broken hearts and broken relationships. But, the Lord asks us to always keep these four questions in mind before we speak, “ Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it beneficial? Is it timely?” In the silence that precedes our speech, we must find time to do this four-way test before we speak or react to the speech of others. A tongue that is ruled by the Holy Spirit, the Word and the attitude of love ceases to be unruly, evil and full of deadly poison. The venom once extracted can instead be life -saving and soul- saving. The tongue can be used like Barnabas to encourage, to exhort, to admonish, to teach, to build, to repair, to bless, to praise God, to thank, to inspire, to heal, to deliver, to declare. Prateep V Philip