The Power of the Tongue
Scripture Ref: James 3:1-12
Proverbs 3:27; 10:19; 12:6, 18, 19; 13:3; 18:21
Ephesians 4:29
Other Ref: The Bible Knowledge Commentary
Based in part on a sermon by Rev. Alan Perkins, Pastor, Journey Christian Church
1. Introduction
a. My message today was inspired by a recent act of love by my wife. A couple of our family members are experiencing a trial that she has experienced in her past. I listened as she lovingly talked to them and was reminded of just how powerful the spoken word can be.
b. I am reminded of several television commercials that capitalize, to an extent, on the spontaneity of children.
(1) The Disney commercial where the little girl, in an elevator full of adults including her mother, announces to the world that her parents refer to her baby brother as “our little souvenir” of a Disney cruise.
(2) Another commercial for some sort of breakfast bar displays different children saying different things, such as the one little boy telling the bride, “My Mom said she can’t believe you’re wearing white.”
(3) At face value, these little snippets are funny, but are they really? In reality they display an improper use of the tongue by adults.
c. Has your tongue ever got you in trouble? Do your ears ever burn embarrassingly after having made a comment you did not realize was harmful or hurtful until it was too late? It’s a disease frequently referred to as “hoof-in-mouth.”
d. Read:
A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two fallen frogs that they were as good as dead. The two fallen frogs ignored their comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the fallen frogs took heed to what they were saying and gave up. He lay down and died.
The other fallen frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped harder and harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?"
The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.
This story teaches two lessons:
· There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day.
· A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them. Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path.
2. The Power of the Tongue
a. We have all heard, and probably used the old saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.”
(1) Our words are more powerful than we may realize.
(2) Words can be much more destructive than sticks and stones, or even guns and knives. They can have a lasting effect that is difficult to recover from.
(3) Scripture even supports this. Read Proverbs 18:21—The tongue has the power of life and death…
b. Words, whether good or bad, pierce deep.
c. Read Proverbs 12:18—Reckless words pierce deep like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
(1) Words spoken in haste, with no intention of hurt, can in fact pierce like a sword.
(2) Words spoken from a wise heart, however, can do just the opposite; they can heal and bring encouragement.
(3) Discuss the Pygmalion effect, the self-fulfilling prophecy.
d. If the tongue wields such power, it would seem that some times it would best be left idle. That is to say, we should recognize when it is time to speak, but more importantly, when it is time to remain silent.
e. Proverbs has even more wise teachings on this subject.
(1) Proverbs 10:19—When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.
(2) Proverbs 12:6—The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.
(3) Proverbs 12:19—Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
(4) Proverbs 13:3—He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.
f. Read
Alan Redpath once formed a "mutual encouragement" fellowship at a time of stress in one of his pastorates. The members subscribed to a simple formula applied before speaking of any person or subject that was perhaps controversial.
· T - Is it true?
· H - Is it helpful?
· I - Is it inspiring?
· N - Is it necessary?
· K - Is it kind?
If what we are about to say does not pass these tests, we should keep our mouth shut.
3. A Small Part, A Lot of Control
a. It has been said that God gave us two eyes, two ears, and only one tongue. The implication is that perhaps we should look and listen more than we speak.
b. James gives us a profound view of the power of the tongue.
c. Read James 3:1-6
d. Verse 2
(1) Nothing can set us up more than an uncontrolled tongue.
(2) If a believer is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect, fulfilled, mature, complete person.
(3) Spiritual maturity requires that we have complete control of our tongue.
e. Verses 3-5
(1) Three examples of how a small object can exert a lot of control.
(a) Bit—this small piece of metal in a horse’s mouth can cause the horse to turn right or left, or cause it to stop.
(b) Rudder—this small part of a ship allows the helmsman to steer the ship wherever he wants it go.
(c) Spark—a single spark can ignite a raging forest fire or, under the right conditions, cause an immense explosion.
(2) The examples are small objects, yet they are able to control objects of immense power and steer them against counter currents, or cause great devastation and destruction.
f. Verse 6
(1) The tongue is not only powerful, but it is also perverse.
(2) It is small and influential but worse by far, it can be satanic and infectious.
(3) The tongue sets itself up among the parts of one’s anatomy, corrupting, spotting, or staining the whole body and inflaming the whole course of life.
g. Verse 7
(1) The tongue is not only like an uncontrolled fire, it is also like an untamed beast.
(2) Birds of the air, reptiles of the land, and creatures of the sea have all been tamed by man, yet man has not been able to tame the tongue.
h. Verse 8—Like the poison of a serpent, the tongue can be loaded with the venom of hate and death-dealing gossip.
4. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
a. Read: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was published in 1886 and is one of the best known of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novels. It concerns the way in which an individual is made up of contrary emotions and desires: some good and some evil. Through the curiosity of Utterson, a lawyer, we learn of the ugly and violent Mr. Hyde and his odd connection to the respectable Dr Jekyll who pays out a check for Hyde’s despicable behavior. A brutal murder follows. The dead man is one of Utterson’s clients, Sir Danvers Carew. The murder weapon was a cane Utterson had given to Jekyll. The lawyer becomes entangled in the strange world of the physician Jekyll who has created a drug that separates his good and evil natures - purifying the doctor himself but with the ghastly side effect of periods spent as the monstrous Hyde. We follow Utterson as he investigates with Poole, Jekyll’s butler, the seeming contradictions in the doctor’s actions and his increasingly hermit-like existence in his laboratory. As the truth is about to surface, tragic events occur that end the whole affair dramatically and conclusively.
b. The tongue, much like the central characters in Stevenson’s novel, also has two sides—one good and one bad.
c. Read James 3:9-12
(1) Similar to the forked tongue of the snake, man’s uncontrolled tongue both emits praise and spews out curses.
(2) Praise or saying a good word of our Father is polluted by a curse or wishing evil on men made in God’s likeness.
(3) Look at the questions James asks regarding incongruous or incompatible objects:
(a) Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same well?
(b) Can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear figs?
(c) The answer is obviously, a resounding NO! The point to be made here is obvious—a believer’s tongue should not be an instrument of inconsistency.
5. Summary
a. Small and influential, the tongue must be controlled. Satanic and infectious, the tongue must be corralled. Salty and inconsistent, the tongue must be cleansed.
b. Read Ephesians 4:29—Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
(1) It’s not enough just to abstain from "unwholesome" talk—things like complaining, boasting, gossip, slander, and critical attacks. We’re also called to use our tongues to "build up" one another, "according to their needs."
(2) In other words, we can’t remain silent. We have an obligation to consider one another’s needs—needs for encouragement, or affirmation, or appreciation, and then, to give it.
(3) Solomon gave this sage advice in Proverbs 3:27—Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.
c. This story illustrates all we have discussed this morning.
There was a woman in a village who maliciously gossiped about another lady and her family in the village. One day she found out that she was wrong about this lady and her family and had a change of heart. She went to the village’s wise man and asked how she could take back all the wrong she had done. The wise man told her to go home, kill her chickens, pluck their feathers, and put them into a bag. After this she was to go back and see the wise man again, but on her way back she was to scatter all the feathers she had plucked from the chickens.
The lady did as she was told. When she got back to the man, he told her, " now go back and pick up all the feathers that you have scattered." The woman was astonished at such a command and said, "By now the wind has carried the feathers through out the village and beyond." The wise man then told her, “And so it is with your careless words. They are like the feathers scattered in the wind. You cannot retrieve them." With that the woman with a broken heart because of the words she had spoken went her way, determined from that day forward to Watch her words.
6. Invitation
