Introduction

One of the most devastating critiques of the tongue is found in James 3. Verse one warns about too many being teachers because of the danger of offending and hurting others by what is said. A mature person who does not offend others is one who is able to bridle the tongue. So much harm is done by the misuse of the tongue.

James names three little things that control the whole body. They are bits in the horses’ mouth, a rudder of a ship, and the tongue in a human body. (verses 4 & 5.) He speaks of the difficulty of controlling the tongue. Every kind of beasts, birds, serpents and fish have been tamed, but the tongue no man has tamed. (verses 7 & 8.) We are as human beings a contradiction; we bless God and curse man who is made in God’s image. This ought not to be so.

Here is just a partial listing of ways in which we sin with our tongues: by lying, cursing, denying God, speaking against the truth, sowing discord among brethren, giving false testimony, unjust criticisms, boasting, gossiping, filthy talking and jesting, blasphemy, exaggeration, railing or mocking, backbiting, etc.

"In the multitude of words there wants not sin, but he that refrains his lips is wise." (Prov. 10:19.)

"A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger. The tongue of the wise uses knowledge aright, but the mouth of fools pours out foolishness. The eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good. A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit." (Prov. 15:1-4.)

"A fool utters all his mind, but a wise man keeps it in till afterwards." (Prov. 29:11.)

"He that keeps his mouth keeps his life, but he that opens wide his lips shall have destruction." (Prov. 13:3.)

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue." (Prov. 18:21.)

Job compares the tongue to a lash or scourge from which we need divine protection. "Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue." (5:21.) "He shall deliver thee in six troubles; yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee." (5:19.)

"O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things; and evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." (Matt. 12:34-37.)

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you." (Eph. 4:29-32.)

"But fornication, all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among, as becometh saints. Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks." (Eph. 5:3-4.)

"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." (Psalm 39:1.)

Brother John Gipson wrote,

"From Macbeth comes the line, ‘Foul whisperings are abroad.’ Whenever that happens you know that some people have loose tongues, and others have open ears. Plautus of old had a remedy, I would have tale-bearers and tale-hearers punished---the one hanging by the tongue, the other by the ears." (Keynoter, John Gipson, Oct. 8, 1998.)

From the above Scriptures, it is obvious there is a major problem with the misuse of the tongue. It causes us to sin often; it destroys much good; it destroys the reputation of others; it can destroy your home; it can do irreparable damage to the church. It is like setting fire to a small bundle of dry twigs and leaves; then thousands of acres of forest and dozens of homes are burned. James said the fire that the tongue uses comes from hell itself.

We do not need much instruction on what the tongue can harm and destroy. We know all too well its power. The problem is that we keep on doing it, even after we know its danger. The real problem is controlling the tongue. We do need help and direction from God on how to control the tongue. Therefore, I offer the following cures to the problem of the tongue.

What can help us with this universal problem of the tongue?? Is there really anything powerful enough to shut the mouth and control the tongue?

Minimize your words. One solution, though not complete in itself, is to minimize what we say. The wise man said, In the multitude of words there is no want of sin. (Prov. 10:19.) Since there is a direct correlation between how much we speak and sinning with the tongue, we must then learn to control how much we speak. A fool utters all his mind, but a wise man keeps it till afterwards. Do not say all that you want to say. Learn to restrain yourself. Have you ever left a heated conversation with someone and later said, Boy, I wish I had said this or that? Be glad that you did not. If you did not say all that you wanted to say, it is probably good that you did not.

Change your habits. Some have allowed themselves to get into some bad habits. They speak down about everything. They have allowed themselves to become cynical and pessimistic about life. The Bible says, "Unto the pure all things are pure, but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure. But even their mind and conscience is defiled." (Titus 1:15.) There is, admittedly, good and evil in the world. Some see only the evil. If so, they are blinded to the good. What blinds them is the evil in their own hearts. What they attribute to others is what they know about themselves.

It is difficult to change old habits. Start looking for the good, instead of the bad. Some are thankful for the local church and pray earnestly for its success; others see nothing good in it. They talk about what is wrong constantly. They criticize the elders, the deacons, the teachers, and the song leader. Everyone is fair game; no one is spared. When they get through with their ugly, depressing words, no one is left standing. It is like a shoot-out on main street of Dodge City. All the bad guys have been shot dead and only one person with a white hat is left standing tall. Is it not amazing that everyone else is so evil, except the one talking?!

What if you talked about your family the way you talk about the church? Suppose you criticized your mate, your children, parents, grandparents constantly. You are the only good one in the group. All others are bad. If you do that, and some do, you will destroy your family. Those who do such are self-righteous people who are not able to see that their sins are just as bad as the ones they criticize. (Matt. 7:1-5.)

One way to solve the tongue problem is to replace the old bad habits with good ones. Starting talking up instead of down. Encourage and edify others with your tongue. See the good and not always the bad. By faith see what the church and other people can become, not what they presently are. I know some people who so speak and think. I like being around them because they are so encouraging. Their speech is so refreshing. Little by little, as we replace the discouraging tones with positive ones, we can cut off the misuse of the tongue. We can use it for good instead of evil.

I heard Neale Pryor in a sermon present this good poem.

O That My Tongue

O that my tongue might so possess

The accents of His tenderness

That every word I breath might bless

A word of hope for those who fear

For those who mourn a word of cheer

Love for all men far and near

O that it might be said of me

Thy speech betrayeth thee

As a friend of Christ of Galilee

Do not listen to gossipers. As brother Gipson pointed out, there are two sinners concerning the misuse of the tongue: the one speaking and the one listening. We can help others overcome their sinful habits by not listening to them. If you are not careful, you will not only listen but you will join in the conversation. When someone says something cynical, bitter or hurtful about others, either change the conversation or say something positive. They will soon get the message that you do not plan to join in with them in their sin.

Find something constructive to do. We waste so much valuable time talking about things that we have little power to change. We cannot change the sinful nature of mankind by talking about it. Find something good to do that will occupy your time. I was raised on a farm. My dad often said that you tell a good worker from a bad one by how much he talked. A good worker will concentrate on what he is doing and will not be found talking so much. This is really true. Try to do your school work while talking to someone. You will find that while you were talking you accomplished very little. Try to do your work at the office or plant while talking. You cannot do both! To work with your hands, you must close your mouth. If you talk much, your hands will be folded.

The problem is the heart. The chief problem with the tongue is the heart. We really should not blame the tongue itself. It cannot sin on its own accord. The tongue sins because of the evil within the heart. The tongue just expresses what is inside.

Jesus said, "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashen hands defiles not a man." (Matt. 15:18-19.)

To change the heart takes divine power, a willing person, and much time. Conversion begins the process of the transformation of the heart. It is the heart or spirit of man that is born again in conversion. Nicodemus, at first, could not understand the meaning of this expression---being born again. Jesus said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the spirit is spirit." (John 3:6.) The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. (Rom. 1:16.) To change the heart takes the Gospel and the Spirit of God working with man’s cooperation. It is not a simple or painless process. It does not occur instantly. It takes time for spiritual maturity to occur, just as it does for a child to grow to adulthood.

If someone were to ask, Why do I need to attend the services of the church? What do I really get from it? My reply would be that little by little a spiritual transformation takes place. It will occur only in the hearts of those who are serious about life and eternity. If we are unfaithful and unconcerned, we will never grow to spiritual maturity. (Heb. 5:12-15, James 3:1-2.)

If you desire to control the tongue, the heart must be changed. If the heart is not changed, we remain in a lost condition. By thy words, thy shalt be justified. By thy works, thy shalt be condemned.