Loose Lips

3If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4Look 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. 5So 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! 6And 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. 7For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
I had a great best friend growing up.  He lived within walking distance of my home.  There was pasture land along with forest and a stock pond.  Since his family had pasture land around his home, he and his sister had horses as pets.  My friends horse was huge.  “Note” stood 17.5 hands high, or almost 6 feet just behind the neck.  Even though he was such a large horse, he followed the directions of two 7 year old boys because he had a bit.
Our tongues are not like a large horse.  They are quite small compared to the rest of us.  The human tongue is just a few inches in length.  Smaller than your foot.  Smaller than your hand.  But, our feet and hands, though they are capable of doing incredible damage are weak when compared to the destruction the tongue can cause.  Oh that there was a bit for the tongue.  My tongue is like an untamed large horse.  Though it has great ability for good, often runs wild inflicting damage wherever in runs.
Apostle James compares our tongue to a horse.  He also compares our tongue to the rudder of a ship.  Massive ships are controlled by a quite small portion of the entire ship, but whichever direction the rudder directs the ship follows.  Our tongue has the same affect on our lives.  The apostle Peter shared his opinion with Jesus on the crucifixion.  Jesus told Peter where than opinion came from.  Satan.
Our tongue can damage our friends, family, careers, and church.  In World War II it was said, “Loose lips sink ships.”  I think we should say today, “Loose tongues injure the church.”  Every time you open your mouth you are teaching, you are influencing someone whether you intend to or not.  Who are you listening to that will influence your words?  Peter, obviously, was listening to Satan.  Words have power.  Words spoken cannot be taken back.
  1. Do you think before you speak?
  2. What do you try to accomplish with your words?

--Zine Smith

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Comfort Trap

Image
'One person dies in prosperity, completely comfortable and secure, the picture of good health, vigorous and fit. Another person dies in bitter poverty, never having tasted the good life. But both are buried in the same dust, both eaten by the same maggots.' Job 21:23-26 One of my favorite music groups of all time is a little-known group, House of Heroes .  I had them in for a fundraising concert several years ago.  Early in the show, they performed one of my favorite songs;  The Comfort Trap .  Here are just a few words from that song: I'm gonna get nice things and get my way Even if it means there's hell to pay I'm gonna have my cake and eat it too And what I don't eat I'm gonna force feed you I'm not looking for consolation Maybe I can settle for compensation Have my cake and eat it too And if it's all a lie, I'm gonna say it's all true It seems to be a universal state of our world that if what we think is a l...
Read more

People of Vision

Without revelation, people run wild, but one who follows divine instruction will be happy. Proverbs 29:18 I have had excellent vision for most of my life.  My sight was better than 20/20.  When I was in late high school, I was told by my optometrist that I was going to have a hard time as I got older.  I asked, "Why?"  He said, "Your eyesight is going to get worse as everyone's does.  You're going to think you need glasses, but no optometrist is going to give you eyeglasses for 20/20 sight."  My vision didn't last as long as I would have liked due to MS.  I now see an ophthalmologist annually which I visited this past week.  They have the worst games!  "One or two?"  "Which line can you read?"  "Better or worse?"  Augh!  If I could see well I would tell them?  Isn't that why I went to the eye doctor?  To correct my vision that I know is flawed?  And my eyes are fine.  My eye shape and lense...
Read more

Death Precedes Life

Image
"So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.” But when Jesus heard about it he said,“Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days." John 11:3-6   Author Henry James said, "Life is a predicament that precedes death." The caterpillar appears to be a full animal. It eats on leaves. It crawls around and tries to avoid being eaten by birds and other predators. From a passing glance, the caterpillar appears complete. From an anthropomorphized view, the caterpillar thinks itself complete. We know that the caterpillar is but a butterfly pupae; an immature form. It is nothing like what it will be. The caterpillar must go through a metamorphosis that resembles death. The outer-layer dies forming a chrysalis that inside the butterfl...
Read more