We are all familiar with the
'zip up' propaganda, but trust me, the trousers ain't the only thing that needs
to be zipped. Just as an unzipped trouser can cause a lot of damage, an
unzipped mouth can cause greater havoc.
"We get it wrong nearly every time we open our
mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you'd have a
perfect person, in perfect control of life.
A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse.
A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course
in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no
account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!
It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest
fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. 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." James 3:2-10 (MSG)
The bible passage above is clear and explicit. The way
we choose to use our mouths influences what happens around us. It can make or
mar us. If you ask around, a common perception about women is that "Women
talk too much." Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, like every
other, but yes, generally, ladies, we tend not to be able to close our mouths
for longer than a split second. From endless talking to gossiping to slandering
to cursing to abusing/insulting to nagging to unedifying rattling to
murmuring/complaining to tale-bearing to praising to praying to blessing to
manipulating to criticizing to-----oh, what don't we use our mouths for!
We all know the areas where we fall short (if we do)
and while this message is not to castigate us harshly, it is expedient that we
understand how much havoc our mouths can wreck when used wrongly. Sometimes, we
don't seem to be aware of how powerful the tongue (which of course is vital to
the production of speech) can be. The advocates of positive confession
understand this and they constantly drum it into our hears to always make
positive confessions as opposed to negative ones. The simple reason is because
our words can affect us and those around us either positively or negatively.
The motive notwithstanding, when we open our mouths to make certain utterances,
we have set the ball in motion for our justification or condemnation.
A story in 2 Samuel 1:1-15 (MSG) puts this in the right
context.
1: After the
death of Saul, David returned from striking down the Amalekites and stayed in
Ziklag two days.
2: On the
third day a man arrived from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and dust on his
head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor.
3: "Where
have you come from?" David asked him. He answered, "I have escaped
from the Israelite camp."
4: "What
happened?" David asked. "Tell me."
"The men fled from the battle," he replied.
"Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead."
5: Then
David said to the young man who brought him the report, "How do you know
that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?"
6: "I
happened to be on Mount Gilboa," the young man said, "and there was
Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit.
7: When he
turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, 'What can I do?'
8: "He
asked me, 'Who are you?'"'An Amalekite,' I answered.
9:
"Then he said to me, 'Stand here by me and kill me! I'm in the throes of
death, but I'm still alive.'
10: "So
I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he
could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on
his arm and have brought them here to my lord."
11: Then
David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them.
12: They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for
Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and for the nation of
Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
13: David
said to the young man who brought him the report, "Where are you
from?"
"I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,"
he answered.
14: David
asked him, "Why weren't you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD's
anointed?"
15: Then
David called one of his men and said, "Go, strike him down!" So he
struck him down, and he died.
16: For David had said to him, "Your blood is on
your own head. Your own MOUTH TESTIFIED AGAINST YOU when you said, 'I killed
the LORD's anointed.'"
This young man thought he was bearing good news, after
all, Saul was David's sworn enemy and he would probably be rewarded for being
the one to kill David's enemy. Oh, how wrong he was! If he had known that he
was bearing his own death sentence, he would have kept his mouth shut - he
would have zipped it!
The Bible is clear about God's expectation as regards
the use of our mouths. He expects words seasoned with grace from them
(Colossians 4:6) and He expects that while we are quick to listen, we should be
slow to speak (James 1:19), for in the multitude of words, sin is not lacking (Proverbs
10:19). Truly, we may not be able to tame the tongue by ourselves, but the Holy
Spirit can teach us self control in this area. This morning, join me, let's
pray Psalm 141:3 (NLT) together - "Take control of what I say, O LORD,
and guard my lips." Amen. Shalom! By
Ayotunde Elegbeleye
