CONTROLLING OUR TONGUES

There are so many people in the world today that can be so evil and hurtful and I am almost certain that at some point in our lives we have been one of those people.  I was talking to one of my authorities at work the other morning and she mentioned to me of her need to control her tongue and be careful what she says.  That has stayed on my mind all week.  


The Bible has so much to say about the control of our tongues and taming of speech.  The book of James speaks a lot about this, James 1:19 says "let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak,slow to wrath".  In other words, be a good listener and don't speak before you have heard everything you need to hear and even then sometimes words are not needed just a good listening ear.  Be careful what you say but I have found that a lot of times it's not what you say it's how you say it that hurts the most.  Some people will never understand this and they use excuse after excuse for their tongues.  I cannot not even begin to count how many times in my life I have heard the excuse "this is who I am, I say what I think or feel , everyone knows that's how I am".  Well yes that may be "how you are", but that does not make it right and what they do not realize is usually a lot of those things that are spoken from your tongue are hurtful to people and they really don't want to hear it. Every time you open your mouth your are letting someone look into your mind. Conversation is a very important element in a man's personality.  Silence is one of the greatest arts of conversations, some of us need to learn this!!!    


When we go to the doctor he will often say to us, "Let me see your tongue."  He can tell a lot about our health just by looking at it.  In the same way, a lot can be told about the health of our thoughts by our tongue because the tongue speaks the thoughts of our hearts.  Matthew 12:34 says," O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things?  for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."  What our tongue says lets people know what we really are.  Sometimes, sadly, as soon as someone opens their mouth you will know whether or not that is someone you will enjoy being around.  Some people in my life, as I have spoken about early, do not care what people think and just keep using their tongue as they choose, but sadly this will always hurt them at some point in their lives and they will eventually become very lonely!!


In the Bible the tongue is described with several words, razor, fire, sword, and poison.  The tongue is the hardest thing for us to control and honestly if we could control it we could probably control everything else in our lives.  But the Bible says that the tongue can never be controlled by man but with Gods help can certainly control it a little better and yes even those people who say " they are who they are and they can't change that", can control their tongue with Gods help and everything else for that matter.  Psalm 39:1 says, "I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me." and Psalm 141:3 says, "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips." In others words, help me keep my mouth shut  and oh how so many people need to learn how to do this!  

Let me just say, think before you speak or simply just shut up and listen.  I have always been a very sensitive person, as most of you who know me know this.  When you hurt me with your words, you will see tears.  I'm not really proud of that but for some reason my feelings get hurt very very easy!  There are a lot of cruel people in this world and sadly some of the people we are closest too are the worst.  Always remember, when you are standing in front of someone, you have no idea what life has brought their way or what trials they have been through.  You will meet people throughout life that you may never meet again and at their very moment your tongue can do a lot of damage.  Most of us when we go to our jobs have to put away everything else going on in our lives and put a smile on our face and be someone we really are not , in other words fake it.  Remember, what you see on the outside of a person is not always what is felt on the inside.  The above says a lot, "the prettiest smiles hide the deepest scars, the prettiest eyes have cried the most tears, and the kindest heart has felt the most pain."  Trust me when I say this, one word can do so much damage.  Please think before you speak, and for those of you who believe that it's okay to speak your mind or say whatever you want, it's NOT.  Yes, it could be true, that is who you are but that is NOT how God would have you to be.  Colossians 4:6 says, "Let your speech be always with grace,  seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."  In other words, everything you say should be kind and well thought out so that you know how to answer everyone in the appropriate way.  Just like most of our parents have always said, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."  All of you that believe , that it's "who your are" to speak your mind , remember this,  people see you as hurtful, cruel, heartless and most of all they will not want to be anywhere near you, so you are going to live a very lonely life and honestly I bet you already are!!  


Please just remember, you have no idea what is going on in peoples lives, be careful , not hurtful with your tongue.  Proverbs 25:11 says, "a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver".  The people you run into everyday, whether it be the clerk at the store, the teller at the bank, or even your co-workers, friends and family members can be affected so much by that one little word that came out of your mouth at that very moment, be careful because that could make a big difference in someones life that day.  


Control your tongues, I know I am trying everyday.  How about you?