In American society, many people take great pride in their
ability to put others down, or shut them up.
Others speak with no concern for the impact of their words. As we saw in the previous post, that ought
not be the Christian’s attitude.
Remember, in Matthew 12:36-37, Jesus said, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they
shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt
be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” The way we talk is far more important
than most people think. James 3:1-2
makes a special point of the importance of what we say. “My
brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater
condemnation. 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.”
Because people’s feelings are so easily hurt, it is
impossible to avoid offending them sometimes, as Luke 17:1-2 tells us. “Then
said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but
woe unto him, through whom they come! It
were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast
into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” It is far harder to blow off the words of
a person in a position of leadership than those of some unknown, so the leader’s
words are especially important. Because
they will be judged for how they have offended people, only those who can
control their tongue should seek positions of leadership. As
James says, if a man can control his tongue, he will be able to control himself
in every other area.
While the tongue is a little thing and it is easy to ignore
the impact of our words, James 3:3-6 makes it clear the impact can be very
serious. “Behold, we put bits in the horses' 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, whithersoever 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, that it defileth the
whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of
hell.”
Imagine a child swinging a bat. While he has no intention of hurting anyone, unless
he consciously controls it, he is likely to injure others with his careless
swing. Since he already has the bat in
his hands, he may be tempted to hit something with it. especially if he is
upset. Because we use words constantly
to communicate, our tongue is constantly available just like the bat in the
child’s hands. we often become like the
person swinging a bat. While it is easy to unintentionally hurt someone, it is
also easy to take a swing at them without thinking about what will happen if we
hit them, especially when we are angry or upset.
People’s words result in wars, fights, lawsuits, divorces, murders,
adultery, and many other evil things. While
other sins take a conscious effort, our words spring forth without much
thought, but the show the heart attitude. In Matthew 15:18-20, Jesus said that the
attitudes are what make a person good or bad.
“But those things which proceed
out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts,
murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These
are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not
a man.” Quite simply, if the heart
attitude is not right, it really doesn’t matter whether one keeps the Old
Testament Law or not. The words one speaks in an unguarded moment are
often the most obvious indicator of one’s spiritual state.
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