But no one can tame the tongue. It is wild and evil and full of deadly poison. - James 3:8 (NCV)
Not all of our adventures are real. Sometimes they’re nothing more than dreams. After fainting at the sight of Harold’s clean room, Stella had a strange adventure in the Dream Zone.
It all seemed to start with Bernadette coming over to introduce her new friend Cindy. As Stella slowly raised her head and gave out a moan, Bernadette asked her why she was laying on the floor. “It’s none of your business,” Stella snapped back, “I fainted because Harold cleaned his room.”
After blinking a few times, because she thought she was seeing double, Stella snapped at Bernadette again. “Who’s that weird looking person standing next to you?” Now the person standing next to Bernadette was her new neighbor Cindy. Bernadette had brought her over to introduce her.
After being introduced, Cindy had to ask Stella if the room they were in was hers. After Stella told Cindy it was her brother’s room, Cindy told Stella that He must be a very neat person. Now Harold is hardly ever neat so when Stella heard that she started laughing hysterically saying, “Harold, neat? Where did you find this weirdo Bernadette? Why don’t you tell her to take a hike. Anybody who thinks Harold is neat isn’t worth being around.”
“She’s not a weirdo, she’s my new neighbor and friend and I will not tell her to take a hike.” Bernadette responded. That made Stella mad and she started calling Bernadette and Cindy names like Miss Nosy and Miss Windy and making fun of how they looked. She even told Bernadette that she should take a hike. When Bernadette heard that she started to cry.
“Is this the way you treat all your friends?” Cindy asked. Stella told her that she wasn’t her friend and she should get lost NOW. Than something happened that made Stella cry. Bernadette asked Cindy to be her new best friend because Stella was talking so mean. And with that they left Stella crying all alone
After awhile Stella heard a voice that seem to come from no where. It said “James 3:8 - but no one can tame the tongue. It is wild and evil and full of deadly poison. Stella’s tongue has turned to poison and has spoken unkind words to her ex best friend Bernadette. Has she lost her forever as a result? Time will tell.
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can control their whole bodies. Also a ship is very big, and it is pushed by strong winds. But a very small rudder controls that big ship, making it go wherever the pilot wants. It is the same with the tongue. It is a small part of the body, but it brags about great things. A big forest fire can be started with only a little flame. And the tongue is like a fire. It is a whole world of evil among the parts of our bodies. The tongue spreads its evil through the whole body. The tongue is set on fire by hell, and it starts a fire that influences all of life. People can tame every kind of wild animal, bird, reptile, and fish, and they have tamed them, but no one can tame the tongue. It is wild and evil and full of deadly poison. We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people, whom God made like himself. Praises and curses come from the same mouth! My brothers and sisters, this should not happen. Do good and bad water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree make olives, or can a grapevine make figs? No! And a well full of salty water cannot give good water.
James 3:3-12 (NCV)
How deadly is your tongue? What kind of trouble does your tongue start?
The tongue has awesome potential for harm, as the forest fire analogy suggests. At 9:00 one Sunday evening, October 8, 1871, poor Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over the lantern as she was being milked, starting the great Chicago Fire, which blackened three and one half miles of the city, destroying over 17,000 buildings before it was checked by gunpowder explosions on the south line of the fire. The fire lasted two days and cost over 250 lives. But, ironically, that was not the greatest inferno in the Midwest that year. Historians tell us that on the same day that dry autumn a spark ignited a raging fire in the North Woods of Wisconsin which burned for an entire month, taking more lives than the Chicago Fire. A veritable firestorm destroyed billions of yards of precious timber — all from one spark!(Preaching the Word)
- Warnings abound in the Bible about the use of one's tongue.
- The Scripture says, “A person must do these things to enjoy life and have many happy days. He must not say evil things, and he must not tell lies. - 1 Peter 3:10 (NCV)
- When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need—words that will help others become stronger. Then what you say will do good to those who listen to you. - Ephesians 4:29 (NCV)
- People who think they are religious but say things they should not say are just fooling themselves. Their “religion“ is worth nothing. - James 1:26 (NCV)
- The Bible also tells us that what you say is a sign of what you think
- Jesus said, “Do you still not understand? Surely you know that all the food that enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then goes out of the body. But what people say with their mouths comes from the way they think; these are the things that make people unclean. Out of the mind come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual sins, stealing, lying, and speaking evil of others. - Matthew 15:16-19 (NCV)
- On the brighter side there are advantages to keeping your tongue under control.
- Those who are careful about what they say protect their lives, but whoever speaks without thinking will be ruined. - Proverbs 13:3 (NCV)
- He who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles. - Proverbs 21:23 (NASB)
- The words you have said will be used to judge you. Some of your words will prove you right, but some of your words will prove you guilty. - Matthew 12:37 (NCV)
Here's Something to Ponder
- Think carefully about what we say
- Bite our tongues when biting words are in store
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