Bridling The Tongue

“If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.” —James 1:26

Job resolved, “My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit” (Job 27:4). That was an impressive resolution when you consider the power of your tongue. One of the hardest things we have to control is our tongues—“The tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things… And the tongue is a fire… and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell… the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil…” (James 3:5-8).

More of our sins are manifested in our words than in our works. Of the seven things God hates in Proverbs 6:16-19, three involve the tongue.

I’ve heard people try excuse an unkind remark or angry outburst by saying, “I spoke without thinking.” That is NOT true!  The tongue is not connected to the parasympathetic nervous system.  The only functions of the body connected to the parasympathetic nervous system that require no thought is your breathing and your cardio vascular system.  Every other bodily function requires thought. The tongue cannot move neurotically without you sending a signal from your brain.  So when someone says, “I spoke without thinking,” you can tell them they are wrong.  They may not have thought very long before they spoke, but they did think, and therefore that makes them responsible for what they said.

Proverbs 29:20 says, “Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.”  Remember to be swift to hear and slow to speak (James 1:19). Engage your mind before shifting your mouth in gear.

“Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.” —Proverbs 21:23