The Bible has much to say about our words. The un-regenerate mouth “is full of cursing” (that is to pray for evil, misfortune or to invoke a curse) “and bitterness” (acrid, especially poisonous), Romans 3:14. James 3:1-12 speaks extensively about our tongue, saying “it is a fire, a world of iniquity … and it is set on fire by hell.” Christians are called to bridle our tongue; in 1:2, the Holy Spirit speaking through James says if we do “not bridle” our tongue we are deceived and our religion is useless.” Wow! What does bridling our tongue mean? Webster explains that a bridle is “a head harness for guiding a horse” or “anything that controls or restrains.” So it means to control and restrain our tongue, our words. Words can inflict great harm and damage, or words can heal wounds and hurts. No wonder James advice in 1:19 is to “be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath.” In Psalm 19:14 David prayed a prayer that should be ours also, “Let the words of my mouth…be acceptable” (delightful) “in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” Does the content, tenor, and presentation of our words reflect our Redeemer? “Let no corrupt” (rotten, worthless) “word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers” Ephesians 4:29.
The tongue
By Rose Hill
The tongue is a very little thing,
But it can either curse or sing.
It’s like a spark that set ablaze,
It burns a forest for many days.
Once gossip starts it’s hard to stop,
It does much harm, reputations drop.
No one can ever tame the tongue,
It’s full of evil and po-i-son.
It does much damage, it curses man,
It pours bitter water upon the sand.
If anyone can his tongue control,
He is able to command his body and soul.
We must give our tongue to the Lord,
And let Him control it with His word.
For then it will bless the God above,
And tell everyone of His wonderful love.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.