The Power of the Tongue

As a child, one of the songs that I used to sing in Sunday School went, "Be careful little mouth what you say, for the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little mouth what you say." It's a cute little song with a huge meaning. The power of the tongue is discussed in the book of James chapter 3, verses 1-12. The first thing the passage compares the tongue to is a bit that is placed in a horse's mouth used to guide the horse. As we all know, a horse is a rather large and powerful animal, but it is guided by a small bit of metal placed in its mouth. The second thing the tongue is compared to is a rudder used to guide a large ship. Notice how the first two analogies refer to something small guiding something large. It goes on to compare the tongue to a fire. Massive forest fires are started by a tiny little spark. Back in 2016, thousands of acres, houses and businesses were destroyed by a forest fire in Gatlinburg Tennessee. The fire killed 14, damaged or destroyed 2400 structures and burned 17,000 acres. Allegedly, the fire was started by two youths playing with matches. just a small match caused such a tragedy. Let's take a look at our tongues. It is a small member of our body, but it can cause a lot of damage if used improperly. 

  The passage goes on to say that animals can be tamed by mankind, but no man can tame the tongue. It is unruly and full of deadly poison. With it, we bless God and curse our brother, who was made by God. A few verses down it compares the tongue to a fresh water spring. Can a fresh water spring produce salt water, and can a fig tree produce olives?

  When I was a kid, I was a little rowdy, and sometimes I would get into scraps with my friends. I can't remember most of them, but I can recall the harsh things said to me. The old saying we used to say was, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me", but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Physical injuries heal, but harsh words spoken to us can hurt for the rest of our lives. 

  Ephesians 4:29 says, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, except what is good for building up, that it may give grace to the hearer." Today, let's be mindful of what comes out of our mouths. Mankind has had enough hurt and negativity. Let's use our mouths to lift up and encourage our fellow man.