Most of us don’t give much thought to our tongue, it’s just there. But when we go to a doctor for an examination what’s the first thing he tells us to do - he says "stick out your tongue," he looks at the tongue because the health of the tongue is a very strong indicator of the health of the entire body. The tongue also enables us to form words and the kind of words that come across our tongue reflect the health of our spiritual body, the health condition of our Christian walk. God said that one of the greatest diseases of man is his tongue because when the tongue is employed in a sinful way scripture describes it as "Being Set Ablaze By The Fires Of Hell" (James 3:6). The words that come across our tongue can make someone feel sad, or angry, or embarrassed. The tongue can ruin friendships. It can cause misunderstandings. It can put a wall between brothers and sisters. It can cause a great deal of damage and in many cases the damage is so deep that it takes a very long time to heal - in some cases the person never heals from the hurt inflicted upon them by the words of another person.
Our words can build up or they can tear down. They say that in an average lifetime a person speaks more than 370 million words. Just how many of those words do you use to encourage others? Or how many of those words do you use in anger, or jealousy, or vengeance. How many of those words do you use to gossip about someone else? At the end of your earthly life how many of those 370 million words will you have used to tell others about Jesus Christ? The total of all the recorded Words spoken by Christ is only 36, 450. We speak more words in just seven days than all the recorded words spoken by Christ in the entire Bible and yet the words of Christ have had more influence on the world and have changed more lives than any other words in history. Shouldn’t we then be using a large percentage of our 370 million words to share Jesus Christ with our neighbors, our friends, our
co-workers and our family? If we were to use just one out of every ten words that we speak for the glory and advancement of the Kingdom of God it would be the equivalent of all the words of Christ multiplied one hundred times over. Can you imagine the tremendous impact that would have on the world for Christ? It would be phenomenal! Unfortunately relatively few people have taken the time to read those 36,450 Words of Christ which is why our world today is filled with such pain sorrow and loneliness. That’s why the average person sheds 121 pints of tears in their lifetime, because they don’t know Christ and the joy of Christ. Our words are a direct representation of our heart. Someone once said "whatever is in the well of your heart will show up in the bucket of your speech." The mouth speaks the things that are in the heart. Impure words come from an impure heart. Loving words come from a loving heart.
The tongue is a spiritual thermometer that reflects the condition of the heart. The Bible says that if we know Jesus Christ and claim Him as our Lord and Saviour then that relationship will be manifested through the words spoken by the tongue. As God moves upon a person's heart He also moves upon their tongue. No cruel or unfair words will ever come from a heart that has truly and completely been turned over to and is controlled by God because when you give God total control of every aspect of your life, that also includes your speech. We must always make sure that our mind is in gear before our mouth is in motion. The Bible says that we are responsible for and will be held accountable for every word that passes our lips. God has given very clear guidelines regarding our words and our speech. - He tells us to "Avoid rumors. Do not speak evil of anyone or make false accusations. Don’t say things that will harm others. Don’t gossip. Avoid foul and abusive language. Avoid perverse talk." He said "good words can only come from a good heart and that the Lord delights in pure words. Keep your lips from telling lies. Curb your tongue. Do not brag. Give gentle answers. Let your conversations be gracious. Let the Lord control your words. Speak words that are encouraging." He then also gives us the reasons for setting forth those guidelines which are - "because the tongue can sting like a snake. Because the tongue can crush a persons spirit. Because harsh words and a gossiping tongue can stir up anger. Because the tongue can cut like a sharp razor." God also said that we should be slow to speak because the godly think before speaking. How many times have we said something in haste and then down the road we say "man I wish I had never said that." He said that when we speak words that are ungodly we will be trapped by our own words.
Simply put - Your tongue is your steering wheel, your words are your navigator, and they take your life in the direction of your speech. Be careful of the words that come across your tongue.
God bless you,
Mark Shutts
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