TONGUE CONTROL
James 3:1-12 Have you ever wished that, like the cruise control on your cars, you could have a tongue control switch?
I’ve often thought that if I could just cut out my tongue or tape my mouth shut my walk with the Lord would be infinitely easier. It would stop the unkind word, the undisciplined word, the stupid word, the inaccurate word, etc. from escaping my mouth and becoming reality rather than just thought. Not to mention the fact that it would also prevent the sin of gluttony! How often do we wish we could bite back the word we just said? How often do we become lazy in our habits and let words flow from our mouth that we know we should have stopped? How many children have had their fragile self-esteem shattered by the …show more content…
I did a search of “tongue” on You Version and there were 4,957 responses!! Did I read them all? Definitely not!! But it did seem to me that the very plentifulness of references was proof positive of our need for supernatural assistance in taming this strongest of all the body’s muscles.
James quite explicit in our scripture reading today and no more so than when he said, “No man can tame the tongue.” Scary thought, isn’t it? James is teaching us that how we talk to each other does matter. Our words can be some of Satan’s favorite …show more content…
We get vaccinated against contagious diseases - we need to get vaccinated against negativity. Begin to take notice, and you will be amazed at how much of our conversation consists of complaining or gossiping. Proverbs 17:28 states, "An evil man sows strife; gossip separates the best of friends" -- another example we can identify with. We 've suffered hurt when someone said something about us and suffered due to something we said about another. Both situations could be avoided if we remembered Proverbs 15:1, " A soft answer turns away wrath, but harsh words can cause quarrels."
In the ups and downs of life, we are all going to have times of anger, but we can lessen anger 's damage if we remember the words of Ephesians 4:26, " If you are angry, don 't sin by nursing your grudge. Don 't let the sun go down with you still angry - get over it quickly; for when you are angry you give a mighty foothold to the devil." Or perhaps we should avoid anger altogether. To help with this, we should remember the advice of Ecclesiastes 7:9: 'Don 't be quick tempered - that is being a fool;" or the words of Proverbs 17:32, "It is better to be slow-tempered than famous; it is better to have self-control than to control an
James 3:1-12 Have you ever wished that, like the cruise control on your cars, you could have a tongue control switch?
I’ve often thought that if I could just cut out my tongue or tape my mouth shut my walk with the Lord would be infinitely easier. It would stop the unkind word, the undisciplined word, the stupid word, the inaccurate word, etc. from escaping my mouth and becoming reality rather than just thought. Not to mention the fact that it would also prevent the sin of gluttony! How often do we wish we could bite back the word we just said? How often do we become lazy in our habits and let words flow from our mouth that we know we should have stopped? How many children have had their fragile self-esteem shattered by the …show more content…
I did a search of “tongue” on You Version and there were 4,957 responses!! Did I read them all? Definitely not!! But it did seem to me that the very plentifulness of references was proof positive of our need for supernatural assistance in taming this strongest of all the body’s muscles.
James quite explicit in our scripture reading today and no more so than when he said, “No man can tame the tongue.” Scary thought, isn’t it? James is teaching us that how we talk to each other does matter. Our words can be some of Satan’s favorite …show more content…
We get vaccinated against contagious diseases - we need to get vaccinated against negativity. Begin to take notice, and you will be amazed at how much of our conversation consists of complaining or gossiping. Proverbs 17:28 states, "An evil man sows strife; gossip separates the best of friends" -- another example we can identify with. We 've suffered hurt when someone said something about us and suffered due to something we said about another. Both situations could be avoided if we remembered Proverbs 15:1, " A soft answer turns away wrath, but harsh words can cause quarrels."
In the ups and downs of life, we are all going to have times of anger, but we can lessen anger 's damage if we remember the words of Ephesians 4:26, " If you are angry, don 't sin by nursing your grudge. Don 't let the sun go down with you still angry - get over it quickly; for when you are angry you give a mighty foothold to the devil." Or perhaps we should avoid anger altogether. To help with this, we should remember the advice of Ecclesiastes 7:9: 'Don 't be quick tempered - that is being a fool;" or the words of Proverbs 17:32, "It is better to be slow-tempered than famous; it is better to have self-control than to control an