Understanding the Power of your Tongue

If you take a Bible concordance and look up all the words related to the tongue - mouth, lips, speech, words and so on, you will be amazed how much the Bible has to say about this subject. In fact the total well-being of our personalities is directly related to our mouths and to our tongues. Let us search the Bible for passages of Scripture that emphasize the vital importance of the right use of our mouths and our tongues.

Relation between life and the fear of the Lord

David, the psalmist said, "Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies" (Ps. 34:11 - 13, NIV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. David implied that "life" and "many good days" go with the fear of the Lord. In other words, life in its fullness and the fear of the Lord are always associated together. The measure in which we have the fear of the Lord is the measure in which we enjoy true life.

2. The first area of our lives in which the fear of the Lord will be practically manifested is our tongues and our lips. If we can keep our tongues from evil and our lips from speaking lies, then we can move on into the fullness of the fear of the Lord.

3. We will not have good lives if we do not control our tongues and our lips.

The importance of guarding the tongue and mouth

Solomon said, "He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin" (Prov. 13:3, NIV).

If you want to guard your life, you must guard your lips. But if you speak rashly, you will come to ruin. In other words, if you control your tongue, then you have protection, but if your tongue gets out of control then the end is destruction.

Solomon also said, "He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity" (Prov. 21:23, NIV).

If you guard your mouth and tongue, then you guard your life - you are safe. But if you fail to do that, the alternative is "calamity" - a very strong word. The failure to guard our lips and our tongues will ultimately bring us calamity.

There are two more passages from Solomon that are of particularly significant in the book of Proverbs:

"A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit" (Prov. 15:4, NKJV).

Notice again the close connection between life and the correct use of the tongue. Perverseness means "the wrong use of the tongue". And this will break the spirit - quenching the Holy Spirit.

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit" (Prov. 18:21, NKJV).

The alternatives are very clear; it is either death or life. They are both in the power of the tongue. If we use our tongues properly, they will be trees of life. But if we use our tongues improperly, then the result will be death.

If you read the entire book of Proverb, you will find that it is full of the principles of the right use of our tongues.

The connection between the heart and the mouth

The Scripture establishes the principle that there is a direct connection between a person's heart and his mouth.

Jesus said to Pharisees, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matt. 12:33 - 27, NKJV).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Jesus used parabolic language to establish the direct connection between the heart and the mouth.

2. He referred to the heart as the tree and to the words that come out of the mouth as the fruit. And the kind of words that come out of your mouth will indicate the condition of your heart. If the heart is good, then out of the mouth will come words that are good. But if the heart is evil, then out of the mouth will come words that are evil.

At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus expressed the following in similar language:

"Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit" (Matt. 7:17, 18, NKJV).

There is an absolute, inescapable connection between the state of the heart and the state of the mouth.

Biblical pictures of the tongue

The Epistle of James presents many pictures of the tongue. To begin with, James said that if you don't control your tongue, your religion is worthless (James 1:26). God is going to judge from your tongue whether your religion is valid and acceptable or not.

James said, "For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body" (James 3:2, NKJV, emphasis added).

If you can control your tongue (does not stumble in word), you can control your whole life. In other words, you are perfect man if you can control your tongue.

Then he went on in the remainder of the passage (James 3:3 - 8) to give some illustrations (or pictures) of the untamable tongue from the natural world. He was bringing out the unique significance and influence of the tongue for the entire course of our lives.

The tongue is like the bit in the horse's mouth

"Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body" (Verse 3, NKJV).

The horse, in the Bible, is usually a type of physical strength. No matter how strong a horse is, if you can get control of its mouth with the bit, you can control the whole animal. The horse's strength is brought into subjection through the control of its mouth. The same is true with us. What controls our mouths controls the entire course of our lives.

The tongue is like the rudder of a ship

"Look also at the ships; although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires" (Verse 4).

A ship, though a big structure, is carried to and fro by the tremendously powerful forces of the winds and the waves. Yet, it is the use of a small rudder that determines the whole course of the ship. If the rudder is uses properly, the ship will arrive sagely in the harbor. If the rudder is not used properly, the ship is likely to be shipwrecked.

It is the same in our lives. The tongue is the rudder. Our tongue control the course of our lives. If the rudder of the tongue is used properly, we will make it safely to our appointed destinations. But if our tongues are not used properly, we will be shipwrecked.

The tongue is like a small spark

"Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire (a spark) kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell" (Verses 5, 6).

Like a small spark that can cause a forest fire of vast proportions, the tongue can also cause vast damages in the spiritual realm. Many Churches no longer exist because one tongue sets a spark (a slanderous gossip) that burned up the whole thing, which could never be restored!

The tongue is a source of deadly poison


"For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison" (Verses 7, 8).


The tongue is like a deadly element that can poison us by spreading infection through the entire system of our lives.


James' conclusion is that no man can tame the tongue. And since we can't control and tame our tongues we can't be perfect (Verse 2).


Diseases of the tongue


Let us now consider certain specific diseases that affect our tongue. These diseases that commonly infect our lives through the misuse of our tongues can, in some cases, be fatal if left unchecked.


Excessive talking


Solomon said, "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise" (Prov. 10:19, NIV).



In other words, if you say too much, you are bound to say something wrong. There is no alternative.


We are also warned in the Bible not to use too many words toward God Himself:


"Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let you words be few (Eccl. 5:1, 2, NIV).


Idle or careless words


Jesus said, "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment" (Matt. 12:36, NKJV).


One day, we are going to have to answer for every word we have spoken. We are going to have to answer for words that were idle, insincere, that we did not really mean and that we were not prepared to stand behind on what we said.


In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes', and your 'No', 'No'. For whatever is more than these is from the evil one" (Matt. 5:37).


If we say more than we mean, then the exaggeration (unnecessary emphasis or overdoing) in our speech comes from the Evil One!


Gossip


"Do not go about spreading slander among your people" (Lev. 19:16, NIV).


Going about spreading slander - idle, untrue, exaggerated, malicious talk - is gossip. The very title of Satan - "Devil" means "a slanderer" in Greek. If you gossip or tell tales, you are actually doing the Devil's work for him!


Not only must we be careful not to give out gossip, we have a responsibility not to receive gossip, also:


"The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts" (Prov. 18:8, NIV).


Lying


Solomon said, "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight" (Prov. 12:22, NKJV).


The writer of Proverbs also said that a "lying tongue" is one of the seven things that the Lord hates (Prov. 6:16 - 19).


Jesus said, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44, NKJV).


Jesus essentially said that every lie comes from the Devil and every time a lie passes through our lips, it comes form the Devil!


Flattery


Solomon said, "A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, and a flattering mouth works ruin" (Prov. 26:28, NKJV).


If we listen to and receive flattery, or if we become flatterers, the end is ruin. A flatterer is actually a person who traps you:


"A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet" (Prov. 29:5).


Hastiness of speech


Solomon said, "Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him" (Prov. 29:20, NKJV).


If we are hasty in our words, our condition is worse than that of a fool. That is a solemn statement because the Bible has nothing good to say about the fool!


Conclusion


The Bible clearly declares that - "No man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison" (James 3:8, NKJV). But Jesus said that - "With men it is impossible, but not with God" (Mark 10:27). In other words, with God's help we can tame our tongues.


And so the right thing to do is to accept our weakness, confess our sins, yield to God and ask Him to heal our powerful resttless tongues. Only one power can control our tongues for good - the power of God through the Holy Spirit!