Controlling the Tongue
A guest post by Chad Ramsey.
Scripture has much to say regarding our speech.
In the Old Testament, the writer of Proverbs addressed the tongue in several passages.
Old Testament Passages About Our Words.
For example, he encouraged his audience to use their words to resolve rather than cause controversy. He wrote:
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness” (Proverbs 15:1-2).
Elsewhere, he described how the tongue could be used for good by teaching good things (15:7) and by speaking the truth (12:19).
At the same time, however, he also showed how the tongue can be used in an inappropriate manner. Individuals can use their tongues to deceive (Proverbs 12:22), to speak perversely (4:24), flatter (26:28), gossip (11:3) and backbite (25:23).
Noting the different ways the tongue can be used, he wrote:
“There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health” (Proverbs 12:18).
New Testament Passages About Our Words.
Throughout the New Testament, warnings are also frequently sounded about the need to control the tongue. Jesus cautioned about the use of the tongue and declared:
“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give an account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37).
Rather than being trivial and insignificant, our words have eternal consequences. Therefore, it is easy to see the importance of Paul’s exhortation:
“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29).
Our speech is supposed to be pure and encouraging, not corrupt and disgraceful. As Paul said elsewhere, our speech should “be with grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6).
James’ Warning About Our Words.
Perhaps no passage deals with our speech as extensively as James 3:1-10. After using various analogies and metaphors to show the power of the tongue, James sounds his own warning:
“But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (verse 8).
Importantly, this is not the first occasion speech has come up in James’s epistle. In chapter 1, he emphasized that controlling the tongue is necessary for one to be religious (verse 26), and later he instructed his readers to “speak… as those who will be judged by the law of liberty” (2:12).
Ultimately, James shows our words, though seemingly small, are extremely powerful.
Given this truth, we must exercise great caution in guarding our speech.
Chad Ramsey preaches for the Gloster Street Church of Christ in Tupelo, Mississippi. You can access their Bible classes and Chad’s sermons on Gloster Street’s YouTube page.
Chad was - and still is - “my preacher” from when I spent my high school and early college years at Gloster Street. I’m thankful to be able to share some of his writings with you.
