Taming Your Tongue

Taming Your Tongue

By Apostle Felix

3  Horses have bits and bridles in their mouths so that we can control and guide their large body. 
4  And the same with mighty ships, though they are massive and driven by fierce winds, yet they are steered by a tiny rudder at the direction of the person at the helm. 
5  And so the tongue is a small part of the body yet it carries great power! Just think of how a small flame can set a huge forest ablaze. 
6  And the tongue is a fire! It can be compared to the sum total of wickedness and is the most dangerous part of our human body. It corrupts the entire body and is a hellish flame! It releases a fire that can burn throughout the course of human existence. 

James 3 – 6

James tells us that it is important to tame our tongues. He also says that the tongue has the power to set an entire life on the path of destruction. Solomon, the king said that life and death are on the power of the tongue in Proverbs 18: 21.

21  Your words are so powerful that they will kill or give life, and the talkative person will reap the consequences.

Proverbs 18: 21

There is power in the words from our mouths. Negative words shape a negative life. You cannot expect a better life when you are overly negative in your verbiage. How can one then tame the tongue?

The tongue is an instrument God has installed in our bodies to give expression to what is in-stored in our minds. The mouth speaks the abundance of the heart. It cannot speak that which is not in the heart.  A heart full of negative thoughts will produce negative words expressed through the mouth. Therefore, taming the tongue should start by first taming the mind with the word of God, and protecting it from negative influences. Every individual is responsible for his or her mind. Be a gatekeeper. Watch out for what is going into your mind.

23  So above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are. Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life.

Proverbs 4: 23

The scripture above admonishes us to guard our hearts because out of it are issues of life. The content of life is stored up in the heart and then the tongue articulates it. A transformed heart (mind) will certainly produce a transformed lifestyle. Of course, you and I have met vulgar people or perhaps we had been vulgar ourselves. This was due to the condition of the heart, and not necessarily the tongue. The tongue translates thoughts into words. A thought in the mind is turned into a word by the tongue. The role of the tongue is simple, give thoughts and I will help you to turn them into words. Vulgar thoughts will be turned into vulgar words by the tongue. This is the reason why taming the tongue starts first with taming the mind, the content of the mind.