God's Exquisite Garden

TAMING THE TONGUE

The scripture has much to say about taming the tongue, or controlling our speech. In James 1:19 we find "So then, my beloved brethren. Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, slow to wrath:" If you look in Proverb 25:11 we find -"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings silver." We see in Proverbs 15:23- " A man has joy by the answer of his mouth. And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!"

The truly good man is slow of speech. Confucius Does not the difficulty of deciding what is right to do necessarily imply slowness to speak? Confucius This manner of speech in a Christian, is full of indiscretion and irreverence... Michel de Montaigin-1580 Speak the truth and shame the devil. Miguel de Cervantes He who does not bellow the truth when he knows the truth makes himself the accomplice of liars and forgers.  Charles Peguy A TONGUE WITHOUT A GUARD UPON IT IS LIKE A CITY WITHOUT A WALL- WE CAN EXAMINE WHAT GOES INTO OUR MOUTHS, AND WHY NOT WHAT COMES OUT OF THEM AS WELL .   John Bona,Guide to Eternity, 1672

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak Ecclesiastes 3:1-7(NKJV)

Conversation is a very important element in a man's personality. Not only is what one says important, but also he says it. For good or ill, your conversation is your advertisement. Every time you open your mouth you let men look into your mind. Do they see it well-clothed, neat, business-like? Silence is one of the great arts of conversation. Carefully note these helpful hints for improving your conversation: Enunciate your words distinctly and accurately. Cultivate a pleasant quality of voice. Be simple, direct, and sincere. Frequently replenish your lungs. Open your mouth well. Avoid loud talking. Favor the low keys of your voice. Correct any faults or defects in your speech. Speak deliberately. Use the best language at your command. Cultivate honesty in your expression. From DISTILLED WISDOM - compiled and edited by Alfred A. Montapert. A copy of this book is in my library.

This next section is from the book - HERE A LITTLE AND THERE A LITTLE- by Pauline Cain Hatcher. A copy of her book is in my library. The copyright date is 1991 and the copyright was made by Pauline Hatcher. This was used by permission.

The doctor often says to us,"Let me see your tongue." He can tell a a lot about our health by looking at it. In the same way, much can be told about the health of our thoughts by our tongue because the tongue speaks the thoughts of the heart(Matthew 12:34). What our tongue says lets people know what we really are.

In the Bible, God describes the tongue in at least eight different ways: three descriptions are very good, five are very destructive, It must be much easier to use our tongue in the wrong way than to use it in the right way. The evil descriptions are (1) razor-Psalm 52: 2, (2) fire-James 3:6, (3) poison-James 3:8, (4) sword-Psalm 64:3, (5) arrow- Jeremiah 9:8. The good descriptions of the tongue are (1) silver- Proverbs 10:20, (2) health- Proverbs 12;18, and (3) tree of life- Proverbs 15:4

The Bible teaches that the tongue is the most difficult thing in our life to control. In fact, if we could control it, we would be able to control every other thing in our life(James 3:2-12). We are told that the tongue can never be tamed by man. But with God's help we can bridle it just as we put a bridle on a horse to guide him in the direction we want him to go.

How we need to make the same decision about our tongue that David did in Psalm 39:1, 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." We also need to pray the same prayer he prayed in Psalm 141:3, "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips"

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There is an appropriate time in which words should be spoken. Some words need not be said, if we think what a impact they will have on our character. All words have an impact on our character. We read in Matthew 12: 36 - "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgement."

EVALUATE YOURSELF, OTHERS WILL
Also in Colossians 4:6 we see - "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one." Another time Solomon wrote,"There is he that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health."-Proverbs 12:18. If someone you know (or perhaps a stranger in the stores) had to choose one of those phases to characterize your tongue, which would they select : "health" or "the piercings of a sword"?

The way we converse is our advertisement, whether it is for good or for bad. Each time that we open our mouths, others are allowed to look into our hearts (Matthew 12 : 34). This is the reason why Paul challenged us that we"Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ..."(Philippians 1 : 27 ). The words that we choose to use will be judged by Christ, (Matthew 12:27), but so will those we come in contact with!!

The preceding section is paraphrased and the thoughts are taken from the book -WHAT DO YOU COMMUNICATE?- by Sandra Humphrey.