“A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds.
A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!
It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that.
By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.” James 3:3-6 MSG
Words. We use them everyday. The major way we communicate with each other. Either for good. Or…not so much.
How would you be remembered for “your mouth”? Encouraging? Edifying? Or for gossip? Idle talk? Coarse joking?
Well, James shares that your tongue is a small part of your whole body, just like a bit in a horse’s mouth or a rudder on a ship. BUT…it controls your whole body, just like a bit controls the whole horse and the rudder sets the ship on-course.
So you need to be very careful what you say, as “there is death and life in the power of your tongue”. A little word can change someone’s life. It can be a right word at the right time or a word of destruction.
That old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”, is NOT true. A careless word is compared to a little spark from a fire. It doesn’t seem like it could do much, but it can and does! It can set off a whole forest fire. What devastation! Same with our words!
Our speech reflects who we are….and has A LOT to say about us. About our character.
So, if you know that your speech can ruin the world, create chaos, puke all over someone’s reputation, and basically send your life up in smoke…that should be pretty concerning to you.
How can we take control over our tongue? Well, we can’t. We have to surrender our speech to the Author of Speech. To the Creator of our Tongue. After all, “it’s out of the overflow of our hearts, the mouth speaks!”
As we are changed on the inside, what will flow out of mouths will reflect our regenerated heart.
Remember…when life bumps into you, it’s what’s already inside that spills out…and a changed heart will produce a changed mouth.
