Today we conclude our series on The Power of Words. I don’t know about you, but I have found these three weeks to be incredibly challenging. They have made me think A LOT more about the words I’m speaking and the conversations I find myself in. Several of you have told me you feel the same way and are questioning what you say and whether your words are life-giving or destructive. I’m glad this series is impacting so many of us and making us more aware of what we say and how we say it.
We need to understand that our words have immense power! I often wonder how our words became so powerful. It was God who blessed us with the gift of language. He is the One who created us with an incredible ability for communication far beyond that of any other creature. It’s true that dolphins and wolves and many other creatures have various levels of communication skills, but we humans are the only ones with such a highly developed use of language.
Language is a blessing God has given to us, and He meant it to be a gift for our good. Of course, like everything else, we have managed at times to turn a blessing into a curse, but that’s not His fault! He gave us the gift of language and filled it with power. Now it’s our job to steward this immense power and control our mouths for our good and His glory.
Who Can Tame the Tongue?
Speaking of controlling our mouths, today we will read the passage James wrote in James chapter 3 about the difficulty we all face in controlling our speech. We began our series here two weeks ago, but we looked only at a select few verses in the middle of this full argument. Today I want to examine all James is teaching us.
James 3:2 – 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.
First, James says we all sin. That’s not news to Christians; we all know that. But then James says those who control what they say can also control their whole body. A spiritually mature person controls what comes out of their mouth; and if they can do that, they can also control the rest of their lives.
Next, James shows how this connects with other examples in life.
James 3:3-4 – 3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants them to go.
James is showing how sometimes in life it’s the smallest of things that make the difference in the ability to control something immensely bigger. A tiny bit can steer a horse, or a small rudder can turn a battleship.
Next James brings these examples back to our use of words.
James 3:5-6 – 5Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
Here he’s saying it’s not just about bits and rudders. Our tongues can give grand speeches in front of great crowds, AND they can burn down relationships. Unfortunately, while the tongue has great power, it will corrupt your whole life if left uncontrolled. It will steer you in the wrong direction.
James 3:7-8 – All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind. 8But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
This is the main idea of the passage: No one can tame the tongue! We have successfully tamed all sorts of wild animals, but our own mouths prove to be too difficult to conquer. We know our mouths have all sorts of power, but it is too often an uncontrolled power. As a case in point, let’s look at the next verses.
James 3:9-12 – 9With the tongue we praise our Lord and father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
If we could tame our tongues, would we praise or curse? Would our mouths be capable of such good and kindness one moment and such bitter strife the next? This would be totally unnatural. A spring gives forth only one type of water. A tree bears only one type of fruit.
This is not just about you and me. It was likely a problem in the early church, or James, the pastor of the church, wouldn’t have written about this so extensively. In fact, even those closest to Jesus (like Peter) struggled with this exact issue. If you recall, toward the end of Jesus’s ministry, Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am?” and Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” But later, in Jesus’s most grievous hour, when a servant girl asks Peter if he is one of Jesus’s disciples, the Bible says, “Then he ]Peter] began to call down curses, and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know the man.’”
It’s a Problem of the Heart
So why do we fail? Why are our mouths so untamable? Why did James say we all have a problem with speaking praise and curses from the same mouth? Why was Peter able to show strong, believing faith one moment and then cower and speak curses the next? Why can we say, “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer” on our wedding day and, within the next week be fighting with our spouse and starting fires with our speech?
It turns out it’s not a mouth problem. It’s a heart problem.
Jesus gives us this answer in a famous teaching, one we often apply to our actions. Interestingly, Jesus makes it very plain that He is speaking about our words. This is clearly the teaching James referred to when he wrote about how we use our words.
Luke 6:43-45 – 43No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes or grapes from briers. 45A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Do you see how Jesus says you can try to look good and act right, but your mouth will betray you if your heart is not pure? You can dress up your life to make people believe you are a kind and loving person, but the fruit of your speech will spill out the truth about what type of person you are and what your heart is full of.
Sure, you can buy gifts for the grandkids every time they visit; but if your temper flares up and you shout at them every time they misbehave, they will remember you for that more than for the gifts. Your tongue displays the condition of your heart. If your heart has uncontrolled anger, that’s what will spew from your mouth.
Just as Jesus said, “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
So if you have a constantly critical tongue, if you lie or brag or gossip or judge, or use your words to tear others down in any of the other ways we talked about last week, you have a heart problem. Something inside you is causing you to speak words that poison a relationship, rather than helping it.
Guard Your Heart
How did our hearts get this way? No one WANTS to be mean or cruel to others; but if you have paid attention to how you are using your words the past two weeks, you recognize the challenge we have with controlling our speech. It shows that our mouths are exposing the sinful areas of our hearts.
This is why the heart is at the center of what it means to follow God. Honoring God with your whole life starts with your heart; so you have to pay attention to what’s going into it and what’s coming out.
Proverbs 4:23-27 –
23Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Ancient biblical writers knew each human had an organ called the “heart.” However, they also used language of the heart to describe the core of a person – to speak of their very soul, will, and passions. So the heart, the center of who you are, dictates your actions and your speech. Everything flows from your heart.
24Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
So if everything flows from the heart, you’d better put a filter on your mouth and not let corrupt talk out. I was a little surprised that this proverb jumped to the mouth. Straight from heart to mouth. Do you see this trend all through the scriptures yet? If not, you soon will.
25Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.
Here’s how you guard your heart: you keep your eyes where they belong. What you watch, what you focus on and lust over will shape your heart and ultimately shape your speech.
Too many Christians think that the media they consume – be it constant news cycles or the latest music, or Netflix shows – won’t impact their lives. But it does! Constantly listening to angry rants about various politicians – or immersing yourselfin filthy language or crude humor – will fill your heart, and out of your heart come the words you will speak.
So if you know your words betray you, that they don’t demonstrate good fruit, then I encourage you to consider what you are filling your heart with. You need to look straight ahead and stop watching things that make you stumble.
26Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.
Not only do you need to evaluate where you are putting your attention, but you need to give careful thought to how you are living. Who are you hanging out with? Where do you spend your time? Is your lifestyle taking you to places that lead your heart astray?
27Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Finally, the Proverb ends with an encouragement not to turn off the path of wisdom. In the bigger picture, this entire chapter of Proverbs advises that following the instructions of all Proverbs is the key to guarding your heart. This, in turn, will protect your life and fill your mouth with life-giving speech.
Heart Check
After going through this series, I think there probably are two common responses.
- Conviction. Some of you feel convicted and want to be more careful with your words. You see how you have fallen short, and you want to make a change. If that’s you, then I encourage you to continue to pay attention to your speech and, more than your speech, guard your heart.Pay attention to what is filling your heart, and ask God to cleanse your heart from all unrighteousness. Remember, the source of the words coming out of your mouth is actually whatever is filling your heart.
- Disregard. Others of you may not think the matter of guarding your speech and your heart is actually a big deal. You don’t think your speech is all that bad, and your heart is pretty good. However, I wonder if you are actually a fair judge of your speech and your heart. Remember, the prophet Jeremiah tells us that “The heart is deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9).
If you really want to know the true state of your heart, you need to be in God’s Word. That is the most accurate X-ray of the spiritual condition of your heart.
Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Remember, in our first week we saw that Jesus said we will be judged for every word we speak. If that’s true, then you should make sure your heart (the source of the fount of words that come out of your mouth) is good. God’s Word will reveal where you have deficiencies. As you read it and the Holy Spirit uses those words to convict you of sin, you will see the areas of your heart from which you need to root out evil, corruption, and hatred.
If you don’t learn to guard your heart and watch your mouth, you will skip through life oblivious to the deceit hiding in your heart. This deceit exposes you by the lies, hurtful and angry words, sarcastic and biting comments, judgment and criticism, and many other poisonous words meant to tear others down. With your mouth you will set fires in your relationships and yet wonder why your life is so difficult.
Conclusion
As we conclude this series, I want to show you how, even in our salvation, scripture pairs our hearts with our mouths.
Romans 10:9-10 – If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
I love those verses. Your entire salvation comes down to both your heart and your words. You can’t believe and not confess; and you can’t truly confess that Jesus is Lord if it’s not something you believe in your heart.
Your words flow from the center of your being, from your heart; so if you want to use your words more wisely, guard your heart. Focus on things that are good and lovely and beautiful. Eschew the sinful conversations, movies, music, TV shows, and anything else that poisons your heart and then flows out of your mouth, harming not only you, but those around you.
Imagine what our church family would be like if each of us was more careful about what we let into our hearts and, as a result, we spoke many more words of life to one another. We would be a community of healthy relationships and positivity in a world that is hell-bent on tearing others down. We would be a community others wanted to be a part of; and we would be a community that pointed to the powerful work of God in our lives.
I want that. I hope you do too.
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