"but no human can being can tame the tongue, it is a restless evil full of deadly poison." James 3:8 ESV
It has been said the most dangerous weapon in the world is not the plethora of bombs, misisiles, and arms that litter the coffers of the nations, but the tongue. Wars have been started and countless people killed because of the work of tongues. Six million Jews were killed in World War II because of the tongues of a few. Nations have fallen because of the tongue. Marriages fail every day because of the tongue. Churches have been destroyed because of the tongue and folks today, people are dying and going into eternity without a Savior because of the resistance of the tongue. The power of our tongue and the words it can weild as weapons, is by far the most dangerous weapon we could ever possess.
At this point you might be saying, “oh, Dan, your being overly melodramatic. I’m really pretty careful with my words, I don’t say stuff about people that’s really that bad.” Think about it this way. If I could travel back and record every thing you have said about everybody in your life in the last 30 days, could I play all of it on the 6 o’ clock news? Would you be proud of every single word that you uttered about every person? When I’m honest and answer this question myself, that horrible moment of recollection surfaces. Uh-oh. What did I say? You see if I’m honest, I know that I have said something about somebody that I would not be proud for the world to hear. So, what is it about that slippery little mouth muscle that is so hard to control?
James goes on in chapter 3 to use five colorful and powerful analogies concerning the tongue and the speech it issues. Let's ponder deeper upon just one:
"We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal." James 3:2-3
If you’ve ever been around horses, you realize just how big they truly are. We see them on TV and in movies but when you get on a horse, you fully realize how big and tall they are. But that big, powerful horse can be controlled with just one small piece of metal inserted into their mouth. That bit, when attached to the reins, can then be used to guide them in any direction the rider wishes. You see this powerful steed is under control in order to be useful to the master. Side note, did you know the term meek comes from just this idea, a powerful horse being meek under control? I think most of us automatically think of the word meek as used in the beatitudes from Jesus' sermon on the mount. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (Matt 5:5) But I also believe that many of us erroneously see meek as weak or timid. Just the opposite, keep reading.
“The word meek comes from the Greek word “praus” (prah-oos΄). The word “praus” was borrowed from the military and relates to horse training. The Greek army would find the wildest horses in the mountains and bring them to be broken in. After months of training they sorted the horses into categories: some were discarded, some were made useful for bearing burdens, some were useful for ordinary duty, and the fewest of all graduated as war horses. When a horse passed the conditioning required for a war horse, its state was described as ‘praus' (meek). The now meek war horse had "power under authority", and "strength under control." A war horse never ceased to be determined, strong, and passionate. However, to be a true war horse, it needed to learn to bring its nature under discipline. It gave up being wild, unruly, out of control, and rebellious. A war horse learned to bring that nature under control. It would now respond to the slightest touch of the rider, stand in the face of cannon fire, thunder into battle, and stop at a whisper. It was now truly "meek".”
I bet after reading that you have a new found respect for being meek before God. Hopefully also you see the analogy of James using the bit and the horse as a picture of learning to control our tongue. We should, through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, allow our language to be “powerful but under authority” and to be “strength under control.”
Folks, today we have had the opportunity to study one of the most relevant, applicable portions of actually living out God’s Word. Our words have the power to lift up or the power to tear down. Our speech has the power to break down or build up. Our language can encourage or discourage. I pray today you will fully see the power that your tongue has as you speak to those around you. I pray that through the power of the Holy Spirit you will be able to bridle your tongue today and use it not to curse but bless others in your life. And that you will use it to speak of Jesus and the power of the eternal life that can only be had through Him.
Blessings ~ Dan
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