The Tongue

First of all, let’s start with the Old Testament and find out what David says about the tongue. Psalms chapter 12 starting in verse 1 and going through verse 4. The Bible says “Help Lord, for the Godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbor; with flattering lips and with a double heart they do speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattery lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things; Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own; who is Lord over us.?”
David is asking the Lord for help here because the godly man ceaseth. There’s very few that are faithful now days. Why? It is because of their tongue. The number one sin that I find most with Christians today is the tongue. I find that Christians today have this tongue problem much more than lost people do. It amazes me how well of an actor some Christians can be. I mean their so good, that they could even win a medal from Holly Wood saying, “Best Actor.”
I remember one time, this real nice Christian woman picked me up to go with her to the Mall. She was shopping for her daughter’s birthday. On the way, she said, “Oh yes, I invited Jane Doe to go with us.” On the way to Jane Doe’s house, she began to tell me how she really didn’t like Jane Doe, and that she was picking her up just to be nice. By the time she got finished talking about Jane Doe, I had already developed an attitude toward this Jane Doe. She talked about Jane Doe all the way to her house. When Jane Doe came to the car, Mrs. Gossip painted on the prettiest smile, and talked to Miss Jane Doe as if they were the best of friends. It seemed like I was the one now with the problem and the attitude. Needless to say, I did not have a good time. From that day on, I was so amazed at how someone could be so two faced as this woman. Poor Miss Jane Doe would have never guessed in a million years how this woman talked about her. This is just one example. I’m sure there are a thousand others.
There were so many good things about my Mother. But one of the best things about my Mother was, if she didn’t like you, you knew about it, and why. My Mother could never pretend about anything. She never said anything about anyone that she couldn’t say to that person’s face.
Let’s take a look in Proverbs and find out about some things that God says he hates. There is a list of seven things, and the seventh God says is an abomination to him. Mmmmmm, I wonder what that seventh thing could be? Proverbs 6:16, “These six things doth the Lord hate: yea seven are an abomination to him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that are swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies,” and here’s the seventh, ‘‘he that soweth discord among the brethren.”
How can you sow the seeds of discord without using your tongue? And look how many in the list of things that God hates, that includes the tongue. There are three out of seven. Wow, this shows us how much our tongue can get us in a world of trouble, Huh?
Let’s return to Psalms 12. In verse 4 it says, “ Who have said, With our tongue, we shall prevail; our lips are our own: who is Lord over us?”
Hey Sister, we are not our own, we are bought with a price. We were bought with something far more precious than gold. A Christian has no business saying those words, but yet we say them in our everyday conversation, and we say them in our actions. We sure do act like our lips are our own, cause we can say what we want to, right? The Bible says in Psalms 34:13, “ Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.” One dictionary meaning for the word guile is, “To disguise craftily.” Psalm 139:4 says, “For there is not a word in my tongue, but , lo, O Lord, thou knowest it all together.”
Proverbs 21:23 says, “Whoso keepeth his mouth, and his tongue Keepeth his soul from troubles.” The one sin that I have the most trouble with is my tongue. There are so many times in my life where my tongue has brought me nothing but trouble and heartache. Personally, I consider my tongue my worst enemy, and even God’s.
Now let’s really look into how wicked that tongue can be. In James 3 verse 2-10, it says, “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horse’s mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm withersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and is set on fire of hell.
For every kind of beast and of birds, and of serpents and of things in the sea, is tamed and hath been tamed of mankind; but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. There with bless we God, even the Father; and there with curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”
Wow! In verse 2 it says that if we are able to control our tongue, then it would be a whole lot easier to control the rest of our flesh. Even the wildest of animals can be tamed, but not the tongue. Just stop and think about that for a moment. The Bible hits the tongue even harder, it likens the tongue to the fires of hell. The Bible calls the tongue an unruly evil, and deadly poison. I have done more damage in the past with my tongue, than I have ever done with my hands.
Take that little helm, for instance. That little helm can turn a huge ship in the right or in the wrong direction. If it’s turned in the wrong direction, it can damage the ship. Not only that, but it can wreck, mangle, destroy, and kill lives. Not only do you hurt or kill others, but all of their friends , and family suffer as well. There’s a lot more at stake here than we realize. Can you imagine the little bitty helm of a ship doing all that damage, and all because it was turned in the wrong direction? Well, when our tongues are turned in the wrong direction, we can hurt, mangle, and destroy lives. We can also even kill, spiritually speaking. The Bible says in Matthew 15:11, “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.” That just about sums up the old tongue, doesn’t it? Just chew on that thought for a while.
I would like to close this with a more positive look at the tongue. Let’s look at some things the Bible says we should do with our tongue. Look at Psalms 35:27-28, it says, “Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.” Psalms 51:14 says, “Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, o God, thou God of my salvation; and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.”
If you have sinned, { the Bible says for all have sinned,} than you are blood- guilty. Your sins nailed Jesus Christ to that cruel cross. Your sins killed an innocent man. But through Christ death, we now have forgiveness of sins. I thank God that I don’t have to spend eternity in hell paying for my sins. Shouldn’t that be enough to praise him for the rest of our lives? There’s so much to praise God for, why would we want to waste our time using our tongue the wrong way. Psalms 71:23, “My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed. My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long.” 126:2 “Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing; then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.”
One of the greatest testimonies a Christian can have, is though his tongue. The lost shouldn’t hear us bickering, and cutting each other down with our tongue. If we only knew how many souls are damned to hell because of our tongues. I have heard some of the most wicked and hateful things come right out of a Christians mouth. I once had a dear sister in Christ tell me this. Before you say something, just ask yourself, “Does it edify?” Edify means, to build up, instructed, or improve the mind. Wow, what words of wisdom. The Bible says in Proverbs 10:19-21, “ In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise. The tongue of the just is as choice silver: The heart of the wicked is little worth. The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.” Proverbs 25:11, “ A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” Proverbs 15:4, “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life; but perverseness therein is a breech in the spirit.” Proverbs 21:23, “Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soul from troubles.” Proverbs 10:19-21, “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise. The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked want of wisdom.” Psalms 139:4 “For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, o Lord, thou knowest it altogether.”
And ya know what? When life is ended, and it’s all said and done, the Bible says in Philippians 2:11, That every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So you see, Our tongue is going to end up speaking the right thing anyway. But we as Christians need to use our tongue for the Lord down here on earth while we can. There are so many things God has done for us, and the lost need to hear about it. There are many wounded brothers that need a word fitly spoken. There are so many people who are lost and starving. We can use our tongue to feed God’s word to their starving souls. Not only that, but God gave us his word so that he could speak to our hearts daily. I believe we need to use our tongues to speak to him more often, don’t you?