Don't Spread Poison!

And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:6-8 (ESV)

It was the end of a beautiful Sunday full of worship and praise.  Our Sunday evening worship had just ended.  We were spending a little extra time visiting since some who had been out of town for a long time were back with us.  It was such a joy to be together.

One man mentioned that he was working on a project and was needing a little extra computer expertise.  Another brother suggested that he contact D______.  Then it happened.  Someone asked how D______ was doing.  He heard that he had (committed a public sin) some time back.  The poison was released.  One brother tried to help by saying that D______ had made a public confession and repented and was now active with his home congregation.  But the damage was done.  Not everyone in the group knew about D_______'s sin before that evening.  But now they did.  

Don't get me wrong.  The brother who said that is a good, kind person.  But he spoke without thinking.  He could have simply asked how D_______ was doing and left it at that.  There was no reason to rehash the sin.  

James tells us that no human being can tame the tongue.  The tongue may be small but it is dangerous and full of poison.  

The whole day of worship was tainted by the poison that came from the tongue of this brother.  Personally, I was devastated.  I had to work hard to get out of the discouragement brought on by the poison.  I knew that the brother who said that did not say it with evil intent.  That is the danger of the tongue.

I have heard it said that you can't put toothpaste back in its tube once it has been squeezed out.  In the same way you cannot unsay words.

You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.  Matthew 12:34-35 (ESV)

Jesus tells us that what is in our hearts determines what comes out when we speak.  We must get to the root of the problem.  Children are born with completely pure hearts.  As they grow and are in the world some weeds come in.  We do not have completely pure hearts.  It is what we must strive for.  We must do what it takes to fill our hearts with the things we want others to hear when we speak.  Those pesky weeds will cause us problems and we will sin with our tongues.  It happens but we must not be complacent about it.

When I was a young child I was taught a little verse in school.  It was designed to help us learn to cross the street safely.  "Stop, look and listen before you cross the street."  That is valuable advice to protect us from injury.  I would like to adapt that to how we use our tongues.  Stop before you speak and think about it.  Look at what you are about to say.  Listen to the Holy Spirit.  This plan can help us avoiding spilling poison into our conversations.

Spend a lot of time in God's word and fill your heart up with the good things you want to speak.  Spend a lot of time in prayer.  Let God help you tame the tongue.  You can't do it alone.