Proverbs 21.23
“Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.”
Sometimes we simply lack the wisdom and discipline to sit still and shut up. Something gets our attention, triggers an impulsive reaction, and we express our opinion without really thinking. We feel an emotional rush because we made a declaration and were rewarded with likes, clicks, follows, and retweets. The tragic reality is that sometimes we make emotionally impulsive declarations and then get liked, clicked, followed, and retweeted by other emotionally impulsive people.
But here’s the reality: Having an opinion and having credibility are not the same thing. Just because you feel strongly about something doesn’t validate your opinion. Strong emotion is not an indicator of worthy opinion.
Beware of getting caught in the gravitational pull of impulsive emotion. Emotionally impulsive declarations are terribly divisive and do enormous damage to people, relationships, families, teams, companies, and entire communities.
Whenever we act without verbal restraint, it is a failure to be humble before the God who redeemed us, calls us to himself, and sends us into the world as his ambassadors. It is imperative, therefore, that we take control of our speech and communication habits. This is the message in James 3.3-6:
“If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.”
James refers to “the tongue” as a symbol for what we say and how we say it. Like a bit with a horse or a rudder on a ship, the tongue is small in size but big in its impact. Very big. The message is this: Be aware of how what you say affects the people around you. Do not underestimate the impact of your words.
If we do not control the tongue, we run the risk of “igniting a forest fire” and “staining the whole body.” And to make sure that we give this our full attention, James tells us that the origin of undisciplined speech — the “fire” — is hell itself. This means that controlling our speech is a battle between our old nature (which has its origin in the Enemy) and our new nature (made in the image of God).
The words you speak are so important that Jesus said this: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.” (Matthew 12:36).
Let us, then, guard our hearts and our tongues will all diligence. May we trust God and exercise wisdom and discipline in the way we speak and communicate.
“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” (Psalm 141.3)
