But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:8
One day after I had filed a news report to the national newsroom in Toronto, I received a phone call from one of the Toronto editors. I was to re-record my report and re-submit it, the editor said, because I had mispronounced the word ‘often’. According to him, the ‘t’ in ‘often’ is silent. I was unaware that my pronunciation was wrong; I had always pronounced ‘often’ with an audible ‘t’, and most people I know pronounce it that way as well. But at the editor’s insistence, I refiled the report, this time with the ‘t’ in ‘often’ silent. The editor had successfully corrected my tongue, but he failed to tame it, because the ‘t’ has not been silent most of the times I have said ‘often’ since then. And I have said it often. Actually, every one of us say things incorrectly, according to somebody. And everything we say will not always be correct, according to everybody. But these are little things, insignificant things, nitpicking things, and we can laugh or shrug them off with no real harm. But our text is speaking about the deadly wrongs that our tongues can commit, unless we guard them with great care.
When you and I first trusted Christ, we rejoiced that our souls were saved, ensuring ourselves an eternal mansion in the Glory with our Saviour. We have also rejoiced every day since then that our salvation includes the daily saving of our spirit, as the Holy Spirit leads us into a deeper knowledge of God and a greater resemblance to our Lord. But the third part of our being, our body, has not yet been saved, and will not be until it is changed at the Rapture, when the Lord Jesus comes to the air to receive His bride. And the greatest proof that our bodies are not yet redeemed is the evidence of our tongues. Not a day goes by but we need to place a bridle on our tongues to keep from saying things that are unwise, unkind, untrue, and unnecessary. It is a constant battle and some of us have a genuine struggle with it.
Because our tongue is impossible to tame, we must keep it caged. We can do this in a number of ways, most of which include keeping our tongue busy with good and profitable things. We can use our tongues to read and quote the Word of God, and to sing hymns that glorify Christ and His Gospel. We can use our tongues to encourage the Lord’s people, to comfort the grieving and sick, and to testify of the saving power of Christ. We can use our tongues to honour those who deserve honour and to condemn those who deserve condemnation. And we can use our tongues to maintain silence when we have nothing to say that would improve on the silence. Our great Example of the proper use of our tongues is the Lord Jesus; as we read and learn His Gospels, we see how we ought to speak or not to speak.
We will never tame our tongues. But we will bring glory to our Lord if we bridle them well. -Jim MacIntosh