Taming The Tongue

Yes, the wise chief replied. Report to me in the morning and I’ll give you the second half of your punishment. The man reported the next morning and was instructed that the second half of his punishment was to gather all the feathers back up and place them in the bag. “But, sir”, the man replied, “Didn’t you hear the storm that raged through our village last night? Didn’t you feel the force of the winds that blew? It would be impossible to know where those feathers are now.”

The wise old chief raised his index finger and pointed knowingly at the man, “Now, you see, my child, the damage that you have done to another. For although you told only a few lies here and there, the storm of gossip took hold of those lies and spread them far beyond your grasp to undo them. You can regret what you said, but you can never fully undo what you’ve said.” (Story originally told by Greg Warren)

Since we cannot re-gather our words, then let’s be careful what we say. We may hurt a friendship or a potential friendship more than we know.

2. I am to operate in my Christian life in love for others. Once when I was in college, we had a Bible study on Jesus washing the disciple’s feet. I decided to literally do the foot washing as an illustration. I didn’t think it would be difficult at all. These were people who were friends and I had known many of them for years. It was extremely difficult though. It takes a great deal of humility to get down on your hands and knees and to put someone else before yourself like that. If we had that attitude of putting others first, would we be more careful of what we said. I am to be filling my mind and heart with the Word of God and to dwell on it, so that when I open my mouth out come words of encourage and faith, not words that hurt. I have tremendous power through the use of my words.

When the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl back in 1997, many people thought back to the previous Packer team led by legendary coach Vince Lombardi. Offensive lineman Jerry Kramer recalled one story about him:

One day during the first year I played for him, he rod me unmercifully, pointing out how slow I was, how weak I was, how stupid I was. He convinced me. By the time I dragged myself into the locker room, I suspected I was the worst guard in league history. I sat in front of my locker, head down, contemplating quitting, when Lombardi came up behind me, mussed up my hair and said, “Son, one of these days you’re gonna be the greatest guard in the league.” Suddenly I was 10 feet tall, ready to do anything for him.

The tongue has awesome power to whittle other people down to nothing or to turn them into giants capable of great things. Remember that Jesus loves you. Remember also that Jesus loves every person you meet with a unlimited love. Because he does, it matters to him how I treat each person I meet. I grieve the Holy Spirit of God when I attack others with gossip or negativity or a judgmental attitude. Show others that you are a Christian by your words. Remember that God will hold you accountable for every idle word or gossip or backbiting.