Every sea creature, reptile, bird, or animal is tamed and has been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. We praise our Lord and Father with it, and we curse men who are made in God’s likeness with it.  Praising and cursing come out of the same mouth.  My brothers, these things should not be this way.   James 3:7-10 HCSB

Today, we struggle to live godly lives in an ungodly world.  We are currently studying an entire series on doing just that in Sunday School. To say that it is difficult is putting it mildly.  I have talked a lot about how only being in close relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ can we accomplish such a daunting task.

I don’t know about you, but I can do well and pray and study my Bible and go to church and then there’s my mouth. Proverbs 21:23 tells us that whoever keeps his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that the power of life and death are in the tongue and those who love it will eat its words. Think about that one for a minute.

As children, we may say that sticks and stones can break our bones, but that words will never hurt us.  Oh, if only that were true. But, it’s not true, it’s far from it. Proverbs 12:18 tells us that rash words are like sword thrusts. Now speaking of swords, we are told in Hebrews 4:12 that the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword and that it can penetrate deep enough to separate soul and spirit. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.

Most comedy that we watch today is so funny because it makes fun of someone, right? Our sitcoms are filled with clever one liners and we find them entertaining. In our lives we want to be clever and funny as well, but sometimes our words tend to hurt those that we love.

Our scripture passage today says that praising and cursing should never come out of the same mouth. Today, I want to make a commitment to have much more praising and much less cursing coming out of my mouth. I want to do what Paul instructed those at the church of Ephesus to do, I want to watch my mouth. In Ephesians 4:29, Paul instructs them to let no foul language come from their mouths, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to hear.

I can tell you that after years of working in law enforcement, you become calloused and cold to people that you deal with over and over. These people show no desire to change. They show no desire to become law abiding, productive citizens. I’ve been out of that line of work for eight years now, but I will admit that there are times that my mouth is still there. There are times that my mouth doesn’t cut anyone any slack. There are times that my talk is busy putting someone down and failing to lift someone up.

In the Christian life, we say that our walk should match our talk.  Well, I have a problem, my talk isn’t even matching my talk at times.  I am that person that James speaks of that allows praising and cursing to come out of the same mouth. James chapter 3 has a great deal to say about how we talk and when you have a minute I suggest you read the entire chapter which is only 18 verses long. The Bible has a lot to say about the tongue.

I have a lot of work to do concerning mine.  I have been convicted more than once in the last few weeks about that mouth of mine. I ask that you join me in attempting to tame your tongue. James tells us that no man can tame the tongue, so I will lift mine up to the Lord. I will pray that he helps me to put my brain in gear and my tongue in neutral. I will pray that he will help me to speak the way we are instructed to speak in Ephesians 4.

Proverbs 26:20 tells us that for lack of wood, the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. Proverbs 15:1 tells us that a gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath. Could you just imagine a world where we all spoke kindly to one another and about one another, oh yeah, I guess that would be heaven, right? Well, my former pastor used to say that we should get in lots of practice down here.

Maybe I can’t tame my tongue as James says, maybe that is impossible for me to do, but I will pray and lift my tongue up to the Lord because I know that all things are possible for Him. I pray that you will join me.  Today, I challenge myself and encourage you to join me in doing your very best to tame your tongue for one week. Can you go one week without gossiping, without slandering, without fault finding or complaining? Yeah, in all honesty, I don’t know if I can either, but I am going to try. So, for the next week, perhaps we should commit to memory, Matthew 12:36-37. In that scripture passage, Jesus very clearly said, that on the day of judgement we will have to account for every careless word spoken and that by our words we will be acquitted and by our words, we will be condemned. Think about this scripture before you open your big mouth and I pray that I can do the same.

Have a great day!