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
Yesterday I mentioned the fact that a horse, an animal that could weigh a thousand pounds or more, is controlled by a bit and bridle. A horse can be trained to respond to the gentle tug on the reins. With a well trained and gentle horse, the slightest tug can get you where you want to go or stop if you want to stop.
Taming a horse to respond in this manner can be a lengthy process depending on the horse. It can require a great deal of time and patience. I’ve also seen many a cowboy being thrown from horses as they worked to break them. We had some horses when I was growing up which my dad referred to as green-broke. This meant that they still needed work. With these horses a gentle tug wouldn’t always do the trick, sometimes you had to pull harder or actually use the reins to pull the bit in the direction you wanted to go. It was sort of like driving a car without power steering.
It works a lot like that with our tongues. When we are sinners lost and in bondage to our sin, our tongues are reckless and spew evil. It takes a great deal of training to tame the tongue. It takes time spent in God’s Word and takes discipline. They say that you break a horse when you are training them to follow commands. This term is used because it refers to breaking their spirit in order to get them to comply. A high-spirited horse will take longer to break and some never seem to be fully broken. The tongue is a lot like that.
If we are wise and follow God’s instruction, we can at least get our tongue to the point to where it is green-broke. In James 3:2, James said that we all stumble in many ways but if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a mature man who is able to control his whole body. Just imagine how much better our lives would be if we had control of our tongue. I have learned that it’s even better when we allow God to control our tongue.
Ephesians 4:29 said that we should not let any unwholesome talk come from our mouths, but only that which builds up and gives grace to those who hear. That is a sign of a well broke tongue. Just imagine if we all used the great power that is in our tongues to lift others up instead of tearing them down. I must admit, I’ve got a ways to go with this one.
Ephesians 4:30 tells us not to grieve the Holy Spirit. The sins we commit with our tongue can actually grieve the Holy Spirit. When I was about 12 years old, my dad brought home a beautiful mare which many young, experienced horsemen tried to break. She simply could not be ridden. They all limped away, some with broken limbs. We later learned that she could be ridden, but only by a female. I’m happy to say that I was able to ride her once I learned this. It was apparent that she had been abused by a man. She immediately became skittish and uncontrollable when a man approached her.
Often times we have been hurt and we use our tongue to lash out and hurt others, but this is not what God meant it for. God gave us a tongue to lead others to Him. Oh and to taste and to eat, let’s not forget about that. If we could tame our tongues we could serve Him well.
We should not be using the same tongue that we praise God with to curse men. We should be consistent in our Christian speech.
If your tongue is reckless and evil, turn to God. Allow Him to train you so that your speech is acceptable to Him. He can help you to break your tongue so that it does good and not evil. Remember that it is a process and we will get it to being green broke before the process is completed.
If your tongue is green broke, know that through prayer and Bible study you can train your tongue to be consistent. There may be times when we still mess up, but we can do a whole lot better.
God would love to break your tongue if you will only let Him. Turn to Him and ask Him to help you to tame your tongue. You will be glad you did.
Have a great day!