Be Wise About Your Tongue Series

Introduction:

A. The story is told about an ancient philosopher named Xanthus who told his servant to go to the market and find the very best thing available to cook for a special dinner for his friends.

1. The philosopher and his guests sat down for the dinner and were treated to four courses of tongue.

a. After the dinner, the philosopher confronted his servant saying, “Didn’t I tell you to get the best thing at the market to serve for dinner?”

b. The servant defended himself saying, “I did get the best thing at the market. Isn’t the tongue the organ of sociability, the organ of eloquence, the organ of kindness, and the organ of worship?”

2. Then Xanthus said, “Well, tomorrow I want you to get the worst thing in the market for dinner.”

a. The next day the philosopher sat at the table and was again served four courses of tongue.

b. Again, the philosopher confronted his servant, “Didn’t I tell you to get the worst thing in the market?”

c. The servant defended himself, “I did; for isn’t the tongue the organ of blaspheme, the organ of defamation, and the organ of lying?” (Spiros Zodhiates, The Behavior of Belief)

B. So, which is it? Is the tongue the best thing or the worst thing? The answer is “yes” – it is both!

1. The tongue is just an instrument – a tool – like a hammer, or dynamite, or fire.

2. Are hammers and dynamite and fire good or bad? It depends on how you use them, right?

3. Each of them is a powerful instrument or tool that can be used for good or evil, and so is the tongue.

C. And that is what the Bible tries to tell us about the tongue – it can be used for good or evil.

1. Proverbs 18:21 says: Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

2. James 3:9-10 says: With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way.

3. And so, this is the great challenge facing every human being – our tongues have the power of life and death, our tongues have the ability to bless and to curse, and our tongues have the ability to do much good and much evil.

4. One of the primary issues addressed in the book of Proverbs is: How we will use our tongues? a. Will we wisely use our tongues or will we use our tongues foolishly?

5. It is such an important and comprehensive subject that it is addressed 150 times in Proverbs.

D. What I would like to do in the next 2 sections of this sermon is to point out the Proverbs that discuss the right and wrong uses of our tongues.

1. Even though the right and wrong uses of the tongue may be obvious, there is still a need to be reminded about why the right use is so helpful and why the wrong use is so detrimental.

2. Then, in the final section of the sermon, I want to talk about strategies to help us be wise about the use of our tongues.

I. Wrong Uses of the Tongue

A. One wrong use of the tongue is lying.

1. Proverbs 12:22 says: Lying lips are detestable to the Lord, but faithful people are his delight.

2. Proverbs 6:16-19 mentions 7 things the Lord hates and two of them are a lying tongue and a false witness.

3. Proverbs 26:28a says: A lying tongue hates those it crushes…

4. These verses use strong words about how God feels about lying: He hates it and finds it detestable, and we learn what lying does to others: it crushes them and is an act of hatred.

5. When we lie, we pervert what is true, we lead others away from the truth, and we distance ourselves from the Lord who is the Truth.

6. Let’s keep in mind that lying has many forms, but all of them fall short of the truth, and people of God must be truthful.

B. Another wrong use of the tongue is for gossip.

1. Proverbs has a lot to say about gossip.

2. Proverbs 11:13 says: A gossip goes around revealing a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.

3. Proverbs 16:28 says: A contrary person spreads conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.

4. Proverbs 17:9 says: Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but whoever gossips about it separates friends.

5. Proverbs 18:8 says: A gossip’s words are like choice food that goes down to one’s innermost being.