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Power of the Tongue and Its Daily Training
- 16. Cloud of witnesses World not worthy Run the race Daily challenges Bless Curse The Challenge
- 17. In Everything
Editor's Notes
- So, two weeks ago, I felt very compelled to speak on the tongue. Chiefly, rattling about in my heart was a message from James 3:10 about blessing and cursing proceeding from the same mouth. I wanted to present a scathing accusation against the church, the body of Christ, testifying believers who frivolously spout evil with their wicked tongues. But two weeks ago, many came forward and began to confess their failures in controlling their words. So, I said, “Lord, what should I discuss now?”. Through a series of discussions with Father that Sunday, I was directed to the physiological nature of the human tongue. The tongue is a muscle, yea a series of muscles. As such, there must be a way for us to train these vile beasts.
- And so, Father began to guide me on a training regime for my tongue. He reminded me of the proverb that references death and life in the power of the tongue. He reminded me that this church is filled with people who are very aware of the instructions of God regarding our words and equally aware of the failures we continually make with our mouths. He carried me through challenges regarding the use of my own tongue. Again, this is not a new revelation for us; it is certainly not a new teaching for me. The careful and considerate use of words is dear to my heart. Early in my Christian walk, I embraced the Biblical message of controlling the tongue. Throughout my journey as a believer, I have continued to miss the mark of my personal expectations. But, that does not mean that I should give up. Indeed, the Bible states that no man can tame the tongue. However, God’s word is filled with instructions regarding the proper use of words, the mouth, and the tongue. Certainly, His instructions are given with intent. So, let’s dive in together and see if we can train our tongues.
- The tongue is a powerful weapon. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse our brothers and sisters (James 3:9). Proverbs 18:21 refers to the power of life and death in the tongue. Proverbs 12:18 contrasts the reckless destruction associated with our words against the tongue’s power to heal. The tongue can bring forth life. The tongue can snuff it out. The tongue can deliver greater wounds than a sharpened sword or piercing arrows, even a loaded gun. The tongue is a weapon of destruction.
- Harsh words do hurt! Ephesians 4:29 states, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” The implication is that through my corrupt speech I deny grace to my listeners. Like a man punching his wife in the face, my harsh, tasteless, or critical words scar the minds and hearts of those who hear them. Ephesians 5:4 even warns against foolish talk, course joking, and filthy communication. Always be aware of the side-stream, second-hand effects of our words. Though I may be speaking to one person, many may be listening. Moreover, those listeners may extend the conversation further than I intended. You know the scenario. If I tell you something, you’ve got to promise not to tell anyone. I’m telling you because I trust you. Well, those I trust, my confidants, they have those they trust who have those they trust and so on. My innocent prayer request begins to move through the prayer chain of gossip and most certainly will end up destroying the very person whom I intended to help. Or that joke I told in the company of my close friends filters through the multitudes of their close friends until my name is publicly attached to the unfruitful work of darkness (Eph. 5:11) and the testimony of my faith in Christ is tarnished. I cannot afford to be unwise with my words. I have called myself a believer. I must redeem the time and control my tongue. Is there a method to train my tongue for good, for health, for healing?
- (James 3:2-10) If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. We put bits into horses’ mouths and they obey us, and we turn their whole body. Enormous ships driven by fierce winds can be turned by a very small rudder. The tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. See how a tiny spark can set a great a forest on fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. It is a world of wickedness corrupting the entire body. Listen to the Message translation of James 3:5-10 : A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can set a forest fire. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue—it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth! My friends, this can’t go on. We have got to become determined to use our tongues for healing rather than destruction. (Proverbs 16:24 Amp) Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body. But, how do we get there.
- As I stated earlier, the tongue is a network of flexible and powerful muscles. Dr. Susan Standring, lead editor of the world renowned science text Gray’s Anatomy, offers the following high school level analysis. The tongue is made up almost entirely of muscles. These muscles are conventionally grouped as the intrinsic (inside the tongue) and extrinsic (attaching the tongue to something else). The extrinsic muscles are the ones you usually look for in dissection. There are four extrinsic muscles: Genioglossus: Goes from the inside of the chin to the tongue. This muscle moves the tongue down and out. Hyoglossus: Goes from the hyoid bone to the tongue. This muscle moves the tongue down and in. Styloglossus: Goes from the styloid process of the temporal bone to the tongue. This muscle moves the tongue up and in. Palatoglossus: Goes from the soft palate to the tongue. This muscle moves the tongue up. Reference Standring, S (2005) Gray’s Anatomy. Elsevier: Edinburgh. pp. 584-587
- The intrinsic muscles are a little harder to identify in dissection, and don’t have fancy names like the extrinsic muscle. Generally these muscles are named for their locations and fiber directions. Thus there are the Superior Longitudinal, Inferior Longitudinal and Transverse intrinsic tongue muscles. These muscles are generally associated with changing the shape of the tongue. They tend to work in combinations, so it’s difficult to associate one muscle with one shape change. However, the longitudinal muscles tend to shorten the tongue, while the transverse muscle elongates and flattens it. All of these muscles have important functions in eating and speaking. Changing the shape and position of the tongue moves food around the mouth so that it gets evenly chewed by the teeth and then moves the food to the back of the mouth as part of the first stages of swallowing. Changes to the shape and position of the tongue are also important in shaping the air flow through the mouth that gives precision to the sounds we make during speech. And so, since it is a network of muscles, it should certainly possess the ability to be trained as any other muscle in the body.
- But, the tongue’s muscular-like qualities are not directly tied to strength conditioning. Like other muscles in the body, the tongue must be trained in order to deliver high performance. But, training the tongue prepares us for a different race in which to run. Hebrews 12:1 reminds us, “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Those familiar with competitive athletics understand the intense training involved for high level contests – daily regimens of nutrition and vitamins, cardio and strength conditioning, sacrifice and deprivation.
- The same regimen of training must be applied to the conditioning of our tongues. We are in a battle for the eternal positions of ourselves and those we influence. Our tongues, our mouths, our words are vital elements in this intense competition. We must train our tongues for victory, not only ours, but of all those who hear us. And with the added dimension of modern technology, our words transcend sound, our expressions engage virtual reality. Newsfeeds, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram forever pen the very thoughts we were once able to sweep into yesteryear. We are now more accountable for our words than any generation in the history of world. Dare I say we have also been offered a greater responsibility. The prophets and apostles of the past could only dream of the potential we have to share the word of God. Journeys that took them days, weeks, or months, we can make in hours. My daughter just traveled from the Southern Hemisphere on the Eastern side of the globe to the Northern Hemisphere on the West in a twenty-five hour span, and that included a few hours of down time. The saints of old spent weeks, months, even years copying and translating the Scripture. I can open my smart phone and view the Bible in virtually every language, version, and translation. And more, I can send that message anywhere in the world with the touch of my finger. With such immense authority, I must find a way to train my tongue to be equally effective and similarly sufficient. My tongue must not destroy the ability God has bestowed upon me to share His word, to demonstrate His love.
- So, Father helped me to prepare a daily guide for training my tongue. It’s a five step guide. G. U. I. D. E. Guard Use Instruct Develop Equip
- Guard – I must commit to guard my tongue daily – Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles (Proverbs 21:23). I will not use this weapon for destruction. Before I wield this sword, I will ensure that it strikes the appropriate target. If I am in a conversation, I must realize that every word I speak has the potential to heal or hurt. Think before I speak must become more than just an old cliché. I can no longer excuse gossip as a form of intercessory prayer. You know, “Brother, join with me in praying for Sister So-and-so; she’s kind of a whore, you know.” Do not speak evil of one another! (James 4:11). Shun profane and idle babblings (2 Timothy 2:16). Avoid foolish and ignorant disputes (2 Timothy 2:23). Ephesians 5:3-4 states that “sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed should not even be heard among you, as is proper for saints. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don’t talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn’t fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.” If I want to guard my tongue, maybe I should install a filter called worship. Before I speak, I let my thoughts run through praise to God and then clearly discern those words that I should release. The psalmist cried, “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.” Daily, I will guard my tongue against evil.
- Use - I must commit to use my tongue daily – Just as I must guard against the wicked schemes of this unruly beast, I must also surrender the power of my tongue for service to God and man. Daily, I must find opportunity to deliver the Gospel message, the Good News. I have got to tell the story of Jesus and redemption through His blood. Through the power of the tongue by declaring the Word of God, I have got to deliver a message of faith for healing and restoration. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Healing is in the power of the tongue. Proverbs 15:4 states, “The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life.” Proverbs 12:18 declares that the tongue of the wise brings healing. Daily, I will train my tongue to be used for good.
- Instruct – I must instruct others with my tongue – Now, this action must be done in conjunction with the previous two. Instruction does not allow me to attempt to indirectly deliver my message through streams of gossip. I cannot declare the evils of one of my children to another with the hope of the second carrying the message to the first. Eden, you know what Abi’s been doing? Blah, blah, blah… No, that is gossip and slander. In humility, not pious arrogance and pride but humility, as Paul said to Timothy (2 Tim 2:25), correct those who oppose the truth. My brothers and sisters, if God gives me a word to deliver to someone, he intends for me to deliver that word. To the Thessalonians Paul gave this instruction (1 Th. 3:14), warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. Patience and humility allow me to control my tongue in times of instruction. The Proverbs 31 woman epitomizes this concept. She speaks with wisdom and instructs with kindness. A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver (Proverbs 25:11). Like a masterful musical composition, tone and timing must accompany words of intense instruction. The skillful delivery of discipline requires a pure heart and a trained tongue. My tongue must become an instrument of instruction.
- Develop – I must develop others with my tongue. To develop others means to build them up. Again, the Bible says that no foul language is to come from your mouth, (Ephesians 4:29) but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear. Our words should offer grace, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. Words are part of church activity. 1 Corinthians 14:4, the person who speaks in another language builds himself up, but he who prophesies builds up the church. We build, we develop ourselves on our most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit (Jude v. 20). Our words must be comparable to the language of heaven. We are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19). We have been built on the foundation of that cloud of witnesses that has gone before us, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone., in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into the holy temple of the Lord. I am being built for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. My language should reflect this high calling. My verbal and nonverbal expressions should communicate a message that lifts, that builds, that develops.
- Equip – I must equip others with my tongue. God gave apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, speaking the truth in love causing growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love (Ephesians 4:11-12, 15, 16). The five-fold ministry depends on communication. In today’s technological environment, our words are not limited to the tones of our voices. We can scream loudly without ever speaking a note. As I discussed earlier, the Internet and social media provide amazing global platforms for delivering the message of God. Unfortunately, they are also springboards for destruction, demolition and death. How can saints of God, believers in Messiah equip one another in one social post and strip one another in the next. I challenge you to join with me and declare that I will no longer destroy my brothers and sisters who have been made in the image of God through any public platform including social media. I commit to use my words, with or without my tongue, to equip the body of Christ and draw others to Jesus.
- Returning to Hebrews chapter 12: Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses… And who are these witnesses? They are Abel and Enoch; they are Noah and Abraham and Sarah; they are Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and Moses; they are Rahab the harlot, Joshua chapters 2 & 6, and Gideon the coward, Judges chapters 6-8, and Samson the arrogant, womanizer, Judges 14-16, and David the adulterer, 2 Samuel 11-12; they are the prophets who subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, and escaped the edge of the sword. They are the weak who were made strong, who became valiant in battle, who turned to flight the armies of aliens. This cloud of witnesses are those who were tortured, mocked, scourged, chained, and imprisoned. They were stoned, sawn in two, slain with the sword; they were destitute, afflicted, and tormented. And the Bible says in Hebrews 11:38, they were those in whom the world was not worthy. And so, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. We all face daily challenges regarding the use of our words. We can bless or we can curse. Others have gone before us and provided examples of the effective use of words.
- A little girl stood outside the doorway of the church longing for the love and joy displayed by those inside. The American missionary had asked her to come in, but she had politely declined. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to accept the kind offer. Quite the opposite! Her heart was beckoning her to join in their singing and worship. They seemed so happy! But this was a hostile area in the Philippines, and her father had strictly forbidden her to have anything to do with “those Christians.” Inside, a missionary was praying fervently for her soul. She wanted to teach the little Filipino girl about Jesus and how He shed His blood on a cross so that her sins could be washed away. At the same time, the girl knew something was happening because each week she found it harder and harder to say no to the missionary. Finally one Sunday morning, she could no longer close the door of her heart to Jesus. She accepted not only the invitation to attend the Sunday school class: she also believed the wonderful Truth about Jesus. She became a child of God! Full of joy, the missionary gave her a beautiful white dress. It symbolized the amazing fact that Jesus had washed all her sins away. And just as full of joy, the little girl went home with her two special gifts -- the wonderful Spirit of Jesus in her heart and the pretty dress to remind her that God had made her pure and holy inside. [You see, with their tongues, a church worshiped; a missionary shared.] A day or so later, the missionary rushed to the next service. She could hardly wait to see the new little Christian again. But the girl was nowhere to be found. No one had seen her or heard anything about her. Concerned, the missionary traveled to her home village. Near her home, she found the young believer lying in the dirt. Her white dress was torn, filthy, and soaked in blood. The girl’s father had not shared the missionary’s joy in his daughter’s newfound faith. In a drunken rage he had beaten her, repeatedly kicked her, and left her to die. The missionary gently lifted the fragile girl and carried her back to the church where a doctor rushed in to help her. But there was nothing he could do. He removed the ragged dress and cleaned her up, but her injuries were too severe. The young Filipino girl would soon die. The missionary and other friends stayed with her, trying to comfort her during her final hours. God brought her back to consciousness for a short while, and the girl was able to make an unusual request. Despite the pain of her father's anger and the horrible beating, she wanted to hold the white dress the missionary had given her. The missionary explained that it was torn and soaked with blood and dirt, but the dying girl insisted on having it in her hands. With the simple faith of a ten-year-old she whispered, “I just want Jesus to know that I was willing to bleed for Him.” We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. And I dare say, if we run the race with perseverance, which includes guarding our tongues and using them with words that instruct, develop, and equip, we shall join that great cloud just as this faithful little witness.
- We can do some pretty foolish things with our tongues. Don’t let the devil double dog dare you to do something dumb. Train your tongue to be wise, to offer healing, and to taste the fruit of life. Let’s pray… Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it (1 Th. 4:23-24). May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14).