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| | From:  desertdawnie (Original Message) | Sent: 9/13/2006 11:09 PM |
When We Open our Mouths
James 3:1-12
When I was growing up, there was a phrase that I heard that sounded good but was as false as false could be. Whenever I was teased or put down, the phrase would run through my mind as a retort, but deep down I knew it wasn’t true. The saying? "Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me." How many this morning know that saying is wrong? Have you ever been hurt by the words of others? Has the sting of a critical comment remained with you longer than you care to admit? Words do wound and comments do cut often worse than any knife ever could. And the worse part of all, is that the wounds usually come from those we don’t expect to be hurt by - family members, friends, people we thought we knew and even those in the church. No one is exempt from the painful words of others. This is one of the problems that James was needing to address in the church here in chapter 3.
In the book of James, the servant of God is dealing with problems in the church. Throughout the letter, he is helping them learn to view their trials from God’s perspective as well as resisting temptation and restraining their anger. The church was tolerating evil, showing favoritism and participated in fighting, slander and lying about one another. The church members were using their tongues to destroy each other verbally and attack integrity and character. Someone has said that great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events and small minds discuss people. The church that James is writing to was full of small-minded people who talked about each other and tore each other apart with their tongues. Are people any different today? Look at all the gossip magazines and shows and how they sell. I want to remind you of something, the Bible is a practical, contemporary book for today, here and now. The Bible has something to say to us this morning. The question is, do we have the courage to listen and apply His Word to our lives this morning? Do you have an open heart and mind to receive the message today even though it may make you squirm in your seat or look away from one another with shame.
Within the church today, we would be quick to avoid murder, stealing, committing adultery or drunkenness, but we assassinate fellow believers and leave destruction in our wake by the way we use our tongues. Things are said that we have never forgotten. Husbands have stabbed their wives with tongues that are as sharp as daggers and wives have lashed out with tongues that cut and pierce. Children have exploded at their parents with words that have leveled the family like a bomb, and churches have been devastated by tongues that have chopped and cut people to shreds. James deals directly with where we live. James could have wrote this for today’s society, for today’s church.
With a sobering introduction to this topic, James begins by stating that leaders will be judged more severely because of their teaching position. People follow their leaders and God holds teachers responsible for what they say. In other words, when you speak on behalf of God, He records your words - he writes it down. But it is not only teachers who will be judged. Jesus said in Matthew 12:36 that, "...men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every idle word they have spoken." James goes on to say in verse 2 that we all stumble but we must get control of our tongues. If we want to become mature and complete in our faith, we must control our tongues. To illustrate this truth, he uses the image of a bit, a rudder and a fire.
Just as horses are controlled by a small bit in their mouths and huge ships are directed by a relatively small rudder, so our lives are controlled by our tongues. The words we use affect our lives and the lives of others. USA Today reported a story when CBS released The Karen Carpenter Story. The story told how Karen died unexpectedly of heart failure at age 32 brought on by years of self abuse from the eating disorder Anorexia Nervosa. The reporter asked the question, "What brought on Karen’s fatal obsession with weight control?" It seems a reviewer once called her, "Richard’s chubby sister". Sticks and stones? Contrary to popular opinion, words do mean something and words are powerful. When sparks fly, firestorms erupt and infernos sweep through relationships and churches.
What kind of fires are started by small sparks? Gossip fires. When people talk about others behind their backs, sparks start to smolder. Within gossip, people focus on negative aspects of others as they criticize, pick apart and tear them down. As gossip spreads, it erupts into slander as the criticism attacks the worth and personhood of the individual. No longer is the action of the person stabbed at, but now the person is no good.
An elderly man had serious hearing problems for a number of years. His family tried again and again to convince him to get a hearing aid. Finally he relented. He went to the doctor and was fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed him to hear 100 percent.
A month later he went back to the doctor. The doctor said with a smile, “Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again.�?BR>The old man replied, “Oh, I haven’t told my family yet. They still think that I cannot hear, but I just sit around and listen to their conversations. I’ve changed my will three times!�?
All of us say things that we later wish we did not say. I am not aware that someone has changed a will because of what I have said, but speaking appropriately is a constant struggle for me.
Through words, a person is assassinated and held up to ridicule and scorn - usually, unjustly. We don’t know what all man heard but had to be pretty bad to change his will three times. There is one thing that I have found to be true of gossips and slanderers - they are cowards at heart. Never do they talk to their victims, just those who will listen behind closed doors or in the shadows. They shoot arrows from behind cover and whisper in secret. It is no wonder that James refers to these kind of people as poisonous snakes. I so appreciate what Dr. Tony Evans said about this image. He said that "If you hang around snaky people, you are going to get bit." I other words, when you are bitten by a snake, the poison that was in them is transferred to you. Therefore, when you listen to a gossip, their poison becomes your poison.
God has given us clear instruction on the proper use of the tongue so that the tongue can be bridled. Let the following verses direct your thinking and use of your tongue.
Psalm 39:1 "I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.
Proverbs 10:19 "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise."
Consider this: The Lord’s Prayer contains 56 words; the Gettysburg Address, 266; the Ten Commandments, 297; the Declaration of Independence, 300; and a recent U.S. government order setting the price of cabbage, 26,911.
It’s not how long we talk, it’s what we say that is so important.
Prov. 12:18 "Reckless words pierce like a sword but the tongue of the wise brings healing."
Prov. 21:23 "He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity."
James 1:26 "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless."
Finally, James brings the matter of the tongue into clear understanding. The root of the problem is the source of the words that are spoken. Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." It is because of wickedness in the heart that gossip and slander comes forth from the mouth. If you want your mouth to be right, your heart must be right. What has come from your mouth today, yesterday, or last week? Think about that. What is the condition of your heart? In 2 Corinthians 12:20-21, Paul tells the church that when he returns, he is afraid that he will find, "quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder." All because there has not been any repentance. Remember what the literal translation of repentance is: to turn away to walk away from the old. May we not be found depicted by these verses, but may there be repentance and healing and control of the tongue.
Sometimes we say things we really don’t mean to say! Perhaps you have seen the following questions from lawyers, which apparently were taken from official court records nationwide:
�?“Was that the same nose you broke as a child?�?BR>�?“Was it you or your brother that was killed in the war?�?BR>�?“The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?�?BR>�?“Were you alone or by yourself?�?BR>�?“Do you have any children or anything of that kind?�?BR>�?“Were you present in court this morning when you were sworn in?�?
�?“Now, doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, in most cases he just passes quietly away and doesn’t know anything about it until the next morning?�?BR>These questions were asked by well-meaning lawyers simply trying their best to be clear and concise. And although slips of the tongue can be funny, far too often they are anything but funny.
The taming of your tongue is anything but an easy task! In verses 7-8 of our text James writes, “All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.�?BR>We can train Flipper and Trigger and Shamu and Lassie. We can train falcons to land on our wrists, pigeons to carry our messages, dogs to fetch our papers, elephants to stand on rolling balls, tigers to sit on stools and alligators to turn over and get their bellies rubbed. But James says that “no man can tame the tongue�? It’s a battle some people just seem never to win!
Genuine faith will always show itself in speech. If you want to know how healthy you are spiritually, pay attention to the things you say and the things you don’t say, for your tongue is a mark of your spiritual maturity.
God has given you a tremendous privilege by creating you in his image and thereby giving you the ability to communicate. And to whom much is given much will be required! Your God-given ability carries with it a tremendous responsibility. Your tongue, although very small, is very powerful.
Some time ago a dead woman was pulled from a river around Los Angeles. She had committed suicide. They searched her for identification but could find none. In fact there was nothing on her person except one single piece of paper. And on that scrap of paper there were two words. The words were, “They Said.�?Who said? No one knew. What was said? They could not find out. But those words, whatever they were, spoken as they were, were as deadly as a smoking revolver or a twelve-inch knife.
So, your tongue has the potential to be very destructive. Let me ask you, “Is your home a place where words are used wisely? What about your office? If I were to drop by as an invisible guest and listen in on conversations, would I hear sarcasm, put-downs, and caustic comments? Or, would I hear statements like, ‘Good job!�?‘Thanks so much!�?Or, ‘I know you’ve failed and I understand.�?Or, ‘I really care.�?Or, ‘I’ve been there myself and I forgive you.�?‘Let me work with you. Let me help you.�?Or, ‘I really appreciate you.’�?BR>The Proverbs say that “the tongue has the power of life and death�?(Proverbs 18:21a). Death words destroy, hurt, and create hateful and humiliating feelings. Life words build and increase strength of character. They lift spirits. They center on the truth, and they set people free who would otherwise be in bondage.
The good news is that Jesus promises a new and clean heart to all those who will turn from their sin and trust in him. When a person believes the gospel, Christ starts changing the person including his or her speech.
As God moves upon a person’s heart, he also moves upon his tongue. No cruel or unfair words have ever come from a heart controlled by the God of love. No bigoted conversation has ever come from a heart controlled by God. No lying speech has have ever come from a heart controlled by the God of truth. When God controls the heart, he controls the tongue.
So, believe the gospel and allow God to tame your tongue. And watch what you say and say things with more. Amen.
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well done, That was beautiful |
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