Monday June 17th, 2024
« A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger »
1 Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.
2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.
4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong.
5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.
6 And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish,
8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.
9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.
10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!
Apostle James captures the extent to which the tongue can go in destroying a person’s destiny, in today’s Bible reading
« The tongue is like a spark. It is an evil power that dirties the rest of the body and sets a person’s entire life on fire with flames that come from hell itself »
The tongue indeed is a fire, thus it must be controlled.
Controlled fire can be used productively; however, uncontrolled fire destroys.
The tongue is so complex that it could be likened to a fountain that produces cold and hot water at the same time.
What can we now do to this thing that the Bible describes as “….an unruly evil, full of deadly poison?” James 3:8 KJV.
Since the Bible describes the tongue as poison the good news is that Jesus promised us that even if we drink a deadly thing, it shall by no means hurt us (Mark 16:18).
Therefore, one can see that every problem of man ends at the cross of Jesus Christ.
The story was told of a woman who was having problem in her marriage. She consulted a wise old man in her family who gave her a small, smooth stone to slip into her mouth and lick, remaining silent, every time her husband picked a quarrel with her. She did this and before long, peace was restored to that home. She ran to the wise old man to show her gratitude for the effectiveness of the charm only to have him tell her that what he had given her was an ordinary stone. He had merely found a way to make her keep quiet rather than destroy her home with her mouth.
The Bible says in Proverbs 16:24 NLT
« Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body »
Choose to speak only words that edify and if you must correct someone, do it constructively and in love.
- All children of God must learn to control their tongues.
- As there is a time to talk, there is also a time to keep silent (Ecclesiastes 3:7).
When we talk, our words must be fitly spoken (Proverbs 25:11) in due season (Proverbs 15:23).
Prayer point – Help me Lord to bridle my tongue at all times, in the mighty name of Jesus.
Author – Bishop Enoch Adejare Adeboye; General Overseer of the RCCG
Edited by Naomie Joseph
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