What can an untamed tongue be compared?
To a dog tied with an iron chain and locked in a room within a room within a room, yet when it barks the entire populace is terrified of it.
Just for a moment, imagine if this animal were to get loose and escape on the outside!
So too the untamed tongue: it is secured behind the teeth and behind the lips, yet it does no end of damage. [Yalkut Shimoni]
Today’s blog post is about the importance of proper speech, the willful and practice of the control of the tongue, and the benefits of Godly wisdom versus evil wisdom.
It is my heartfelt prayer that this blog post may be a healing blessing to any soul that is in pain and or broken by undisciplined individuals whose speech does not edify your soul but is very destructive. Enough already!
“Glory and dishonor come from speaking,
and a man’s/woman’s tongue is his/her downfall!”
Sirach 5:13
Proper Speech
The Master’s brother, James wrote to this notion of speaking to one another with kind and the proper speech by writing these words of importance to followers of Messiah.
“Keep speaking and acting like people who will be judged by a Torah which gives freedom. For judgment will be without mercy toward one who doesn’t show mercy, but mercy wins out over judgment.” James 2:12
The reality is believers and non-believers are quilty of mean-spirited and evil speech in our communications toward one another. The question is what moral guideline [if any,] will one employ when one lacks the discipline of the tongue.
Does one understand the eventual consequences that are associated with evil wisdom that is practiced from the heart? For the believer, this question is of grave importance in that unlike the unbeliever, there is a realistic and worthwhile alternative that God will grant you if you delight on becoming more Christlike in your spiritual identity.
James adds some very practical yet very difficult tools for those whom the Holy Spirit is guiding into a deeper level of maturity in that one who is mature is to “Be quick to listen but slow to speak, slow to get angry, for a person’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness!” James 1:19-20
What is God’s righteousness in this matter? “We still as followers, have to continue to be emptied before we can be filled.” As we admit our bad motives and sinful decisions to the Lord, we then ask Him to remove them and their chilling effects from our heart and soul, not to mention, the lasting danger that they inflict on others.
That emptying is crucial in order to make room for God’s living water and newer spiritual disciplines to fill us while spiritually, transforming us. We still have a sinful nature, but we are no longer chained to those desires. We are now free to pursue things which please God. (See chapters 6-8 of Romans.)
One’s personal salvation and spiritual integrity are practiced and maintained when a follower of The Master is mature enough to “rid yourself of all vulgarity and obvious evil and receive meekly the Word implanted in you that can save your lives”. James 1:21
For anyone who thinks he/or she is religiously observant but does not control their tongue is deceiving themselves, and their witness counts for nothing. James 1:26
Control of The Tongue
A sharp tongue is a weapon, no less as effective as a pointed spear or a sword honed to a razor’s edge. A sharp tongue has no place among the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
It does not express love, spread joy or promote peace. It shows no patience, kindness or goodness in its words. It betrays faithfulness and gentleness, and most of all, it shows no measure of self-control.
Uncontrolled and untamed, without interference, the untamed tongue is as a fire, it can spread to leave absolutely nothing untouched, unscorched, and unaffected.
It is startling to think that fire, of itself, could erase all life from the earth! Were it to burn and spread unaffected by rain, wind, or the efforts of man, it could conceivably cover the earth and burn all life and all oxygen from our world.
“From the sages of ancient Egypt, through the biblical books of Proverbs and Sirach [in the Apocrypha[, and other classical materials there is a consensus that silence is better than speech, that hearing, not speaking, is the pathway to wisdom. For the mark of the wise person was above all, control of speech.” Sirach 5:13
Obtained Wisdom
Before we speak, we who are wise must learn to be master of one’s own words. For after you speak, one’s words will master you. Evil talk, slander, rumors, and empty gossip kills three people: the speaker; the listener, and the one who is spoken of.
- The speaker commits a grave sin by speaking negatively about an individual.
- The listener is a co/partner to this evil.
- The one who is spoken of negative traits is worsened by the fact of the evil talk of the speaker.
By speaking negatively of a person’s trait, deed or person, the evil speaker is with their words, granting substance and validity to it. On the other hand, the same applies in the reverse: speaking favorably of another, accentuating their positive side, will assist them in realizing themselves in the manner that you have defined them in.
Godly wisdom from our Lord can be both a blessing and a curse in the actions, thoughts, and deeds of any immature follower who remains undisciplined and or unrepentant is idle speech and evil conversations.
The Master says, “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned.” Matt. 12:36-37
As followers of Messiah, we are strongly encouraged to seek and practice mastery and maturity in this area of quick to hear, slow to speak. The tongue is portrayed as the key element in attaining perfection!
This is wise and very possible when one understands the closeness between the heart (mind) and the tongue. The hidden evil of the heart becomes manifest in our speech. Many sins can occur as a result of using tongue improperly.
The avoidance of negative opinions about others is not made possible, also so that misinformation is not passed along as truth.
As an additional biblical link for other important Bible links about idle words and evil speaking, please consider this link below:
https://biblereasons.com/idle-words/
Closing remarks
As faithful followers of Messiah, each of us are to practice proper speech, while over time, have self-mastery over our tongue, for this is a mark of a wise person who is able to control one’s speech.
The difference between the soul-care benefits of Godly wisdom as opposed to worldly [cultural] wisdom is clearly noted in Proverbs 12: 18-28 Complete Jewish Bible.
“Idle talk can pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise can heal. Truthful words will stand forever, lying speech but a moment.”
“Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but for those advising peace, there is a joy. No harm can come to the righteous, but the wicked are overwhelmed with disaster.”
“Lying lips are an abomination to Adonai, but those who deal faithfully are His delight. A cautious person conceals knowledge, but the heart of a fool blurts out folly.”
“Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs him down, but a kind word cheers him up. In the road of righteousness is life; no death is in its pathway!”
Grace and Peace
Brother Alonzo