Daily Devotional For Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Yesterday, we were in Proverbs looking at what this book has to say about the tongue. Look at Proverbs 15:2, “The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly” (ESV). The New Living Translation puts this same verse this way, “The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness.” Have you ever belched in public or been with someone who did? It’s very embarrassing, at least to some people. When I was around 4-5, I said a very bad word that I had heard my father say. My mother made me go into the bathroom and literally wash my mouth out with soap. At first, it was horrible until . . . I realized I could blow soap bubbles. I never forgot that. Thanks Mom!

The real issue is not the tongue, but the source of what comes from the tongue — our heart.  Look at Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (ESV). The Message Translation paraphrases Jeremiah 17:9 it this way: “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.” Christian pastor and author, John MacArthur puts it this way:

“Nowhere is the relationship between faith and works more evident than in a person’s speech. What you are will inevitably be disclosed by what you say. It might be said that a person’s speech is a reliable measure of his spiritual temperature, a monitor of the inner human condition. The rabbis spoke of the tongue as an arrow rather than a dagger or sword, because it can wound and kill from a great distance. It can wreak great damage even when far from its victim” (i.e., John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “James,” p. 144).

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (ESV). This means that a transformed new nature will produce a new transformed behavior, which includes speech from the tongue that reflects a person who has genuinely been born again and is saved.  The theological term is sanctification — meaning — prior to conversion, we were slaves to our old nature, the devil, his demons and this world. Now — we have the power of God’s Holy Spirit in us working to make our character more like Christ’s character. Read James 3:2-5:

“For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. (3) If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. (4) Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. (5) So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things” (ESV).

James uses the word “perfect” in verse 2. Does he mean “perfect” as we normally think? We are taught only God as revealed in Jesus is perfect — without sin. The Greek New Testament word James uses here is [τέλειος, teleios]. It is used in the New Testament in two ways. First, it is used to mean without sins, no errors, no mistakes, and no flaws. Well, that knocks me out. The second way this Greek New Testament word was used was to means “complete, mature.” Now we’re talking. This is what James has in mind here. He seems to say that though we could never be sinless or perfect like Jesus, we can have through the Holy Spirit’s power a saved and sanctified heart that is mature and that has God-honoring speech. 

To further illustrate this, James refers to horses and ships. We use bits in horses’ mouth to tell them which direction we want to go and we use a rudder on a ship to navigate where we want it to go. James says that once we are able to get our tongue under control, we will be able to control our body and all of its sinful desires. John MacArthur says, “When a person’s speech is Christ-exalting, God-honoring, and edifying, one can be sure the rest of his life is spiritually healthy—and vice versa” (ibid., p. 152).

“Warren Wiersbe tells the story of a pastor friend who told him of a woman in his congregation who was a terrible gossip. One day she said to him, “Pastor, the Lord has convicted me of my sin of gossip. My tongue is getting me and others into trouble.” When he guardedly asked, “Well, what do you plan to do about it?” she replied, “I want to put my tongue on the altar.” Because she had said the same thing so many times and yet never changed, he told her, “There isn’t an altar big enough.” (Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Vol. 2., p. 358).

Back to horses — if you have ever ridden a horse, a bit sits into a horses mouth on top of their tongue. And using a bridle and reign, you can easily turn that horse’s head and turn the whole horse in the direction you want to go. The horse obeys. Horses are large animals, and the point of riding a horse is to get it to go where you want it to go. The rider of a horse puts a bit in its mouth in order that the horse will obediently go in the right direction. Using the bit, the rider can move the whole body of the horse. That which is small sets the direction for something much greater in size. Specifically, references to the horse’s mouth and “body” This means controlling the horse’s mouth, means you control their head, which gives you control over their body. 

Back to ships —James says that when you compare a rudder on a ship to oversize of the ship, that rudder is small in comparison. Yet, you are able to turn that big ocean liner with a rudder wherever you want it to go. So, just like bits control horses, rudders control ships, our tongues control us. That which is small sets the direction for something much greater in size. James says in James 3:5 it is boasting that gets us into trouble. The Greek New Testament word is [αὐχέω, aucheo]. When we boast, we leave destruction everywhere. A boastful tongue can ruin marriages, relationships, churches, friendships and even lead to war.

The boasting James has in mind here he clarifies in James 4:16, “But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil” (NASB). James has in mind an evil boasting born of arrogance, pride, and  self-conceit. Ever been around someone who is so in-love with himself/herself that you want to vomit? They either boast about how great they are and all the good they are doing so that attention is drawn to them through self-conceit OR, they are boasting about all the problems they have so as to draw attention to themselves through self-loathing. 

I do not know one person who has not struggled to control his or her tongue. Sometimes our personal barbs are due to pain from others and we vent on someone else. These verbal barbs and lacerations cut down to the bone and an uncontrolled tongue reveals a very sick and sinful heart. Read Psalm 37:30-31, “The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. (31) The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip” (ESV). Read Proverbs 12:18, "There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (ESV).

I really like how Chuck Swindoll gives us a summary of the overall purpose of the book of James:

“I’ll never forget my first week in boot camp. When I arrived, I had an idea about the Marine Corps that was altogether false, and it took about sixty seconds for reality to shatter my fragile image. During our first orientation class, with our heads shaved, our bodies aching, and our egos stripped, I distinctly remember the instructor shouting, “Look to your right! Look to your left! In fourteen weeks one of those guys won’t be here!” And I thought, “Are they gonna shoot ’em?” Of course not, but at that point we were all scared half to death. We just wanted to survive. As those petrified recruits pivoted their heads left and right, I thought, “Hey! The guys on my right and my left are looking at me!” And I realized that I could very well be one of those men who wouldn’t be able to measure up. 

It wasn’t a bluff. In the course of our training we started with eighty-five, and we graduated forty-two. So that instructor wasn’t exaggerating. That intense training thinned the ranks. We all had a naive, even romantic, idea of life in the Corps—like a fourteen-week summer camp or like Boy Scouts for adults. But after a few months had passed and forty-three men had dropped out, I had learned what it was really all about. We all had learned what it meant to be among “the few, the proud.” We had discovered the meaning of submission, taking orders, and going above and beyond the call of duty. And we had learned the true meaning of the Marine Corps motto, Semper Fidelis—“Always Faithful.” Like that life-changing experience in boot camp, a serious reading of the book of James thins the ranks.

 It sifts religious phonies out of the Christian crowd. James is looking for a few good men and women who will remain “always faithful” in word and deed. The tough words of James assault the inauthentic faith of wannabes. Some onlookers may even say, “That’s just not for me.” But that’s the job of the book. James is asking, “If you say you believe like you should, why do you live like you shouldn’t?” People who naively embraced a sit-back-and-watch kind of comfy Christianity will have a hard time with our drill instructor, James” (Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary, “James & 1 & 2 Peter,” p. 44).

And what Swindoll writes about the Book of James, first, God is looking for a few good men and women who will allow the Holy Spirit to be the bridle of their tongue. An untamed tongue is very dangerous. Jesus talked about this in Matthew 15:8-9, “‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; (9) in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’” (ESV). In this case, then our tongues can defile. James repeats this in James 3, the first few opening verses.  Our tongue can defile our witness and the Gospel.

Second, our tongues can defy. Our tongue resists being controlled and any natural attempts to do so come up failing no matter what tricks we may use. The fruit that comes from our tongues is produced by the roots in our hearts. This is why we must give our lives to Jesus and let His Holy Spirit control our tongues. No matter how much we try to present a facade of control, our tongue will eventually expose who we are and our true character. 

Questions To Consider

1. What would you say is the worst thing you have ever said to another person? Why did you say it and what were the consequences. What did this reveal about your heart?
2. What would you say is the worst thing someone ever said to you? Why did they say and what were the consequences?
3. If something ungodly slips from your tongue and you go, “Oh, I am so sorry. That is not me,” but the Bible says that is your heart. 
4. Does your mouth utter wisdom and justice? Why or why not?
5. Does your tongue bring healing? Why or why not?
6. What would be your bridle or rudder for your tongue?
7. What will it take for you to be “Semper Fidelis” with your tongue?

Scripture To Mediate On: Proverbs 15:7, “The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools” (ESV).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, I need You to be the bridle and rudder of my tongue. I want to honor You with my words. I do not want to say anything that would defile You or the Gospel. I want people, when they see me or my name comes up, they think, `There is a person who is Semper Fidelis with their tongue.’ Jesus, if I have hurt anyone intentionally or unintentionally with my tongue, please tell me who so I can go apologize and ask for their forgiveness. Jesus, I forgive everyone who through their tongue have hurt and wounded me. I thank You for Your daily forgiveness and grace even though I do not deserve it. I love You, Jesus. In Jesus’ name Amen!”

I love you Southside, Pastor Kelly.