Taming Your Tongue
David W Palmer
(Mark 11:23 NKJV) “… he will have whatever he says.”
(James 3:2 NKJV) … If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
Through James, the Holy Spirit had a lot to say about the power of the tongue and about it being tamed. Today, we are up to his fourth illustration of just how powerful our words are; and just how unruly and wild the tongue is without God’s help:
ILLUSTRATION 4—Taming a Wild Animal
(James 3:7–8 NKJV) For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. {8} But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
“No man can tame the tongue.” This amazing statement is in God's Word; so by his revelation, we know that it is true. What’s more, experience certainly confirms the same truth; we all know that we cannot fully tame our own tongues. Man certainly cannot do this by his own strength and resolve, no matter how sincerely he wants to.
Note: you cannot tame your own tongue by will-power. But that doesn’t mean it cannot be tamed. Today, we are going to find out how.
First, let us look at James's fourth illustration of the tongue and its ability. He says it’s like a wild animal, only worse. Even they have been tamed by mankind, but James implies that the tongue is harder to tame than the wildest of wild animals.
The Holy Spirit also says that the tongue is “unruly.” This means it cannot be ruled. He also says that it is “evil.” This lines up with what we saw him say yesterday; the tongue is “set on fire by hell” (James 3:6 NKJV). We must be aware of this; we have to come to the full realisation that we need God’s help to tame our tongues.
Through James, the Holy Spirit also says that our tongue is “full of deadly poison.” This fits as a second witness with what the apostle Paul said in the book of Romans when talking about the natural man without God’s help:
(Romans 3:10–14 NLT) As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one. {11} No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.” … {13} “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.” {14} “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
The holy spirit’s language through Paul here is stark and uncomfortable, but this is God’s summation of people that are under the power of the devil; they do not know God, and they certainly do not have his help in taming their tongues. Paul underlines and confirms what James says about “deadly poison” coming through their words; Paul quotes it as “snake venom.”
So how do we tame our tongues? Today, we look at God’s very simple solutions:
First, we do not try to tame our tongue fully by our own willpower. As we saw yesterday, willpower can help a great deal—especially when we decide not to speak wrong, incorrect, unloving, unedifying, doubt-filled, or unbelieving words. In other words, our first step is to make the decision that we will have a cleaned up tongue.
The second important aspect is to note what Jesus said:
(Matthew 12:34–35 DKJV) “You offspring of vipers; how can you, being evil speak good things? For out of that which fills and overflows from the heart the mouth speaks. {35} A good man, out of the good treasure [collected in and overflowing from his heart], sends out good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure sends out evil things.”
Our Lord's statement here is almost like a mathematical formula. If we put good words into our hearts, and if they fill it to overflowing, we are sure to say good things. The opposite is true. So if we decide that we want to speak good, wholesome, edifying, words, then the simple conclusion is to fill and overflow our hearts with them. For us, this happens as we invest our time in God's Word, meditate on it, study it, revolve it in our minds, mutter it quietly, confess it loudly, and allow it to sink deep into our hearts. If we love it, we will have an overflow of good things coming from our hearts out through our mouths. Thus, the living word of God is an agent powerful enough to tame the tongue—even though human willpower is not.
The next agent that can tame our tongue is also infinitely powerful; it will certainly take an infinite power to tame the unruly, evil tongue. The Holy Spirit is that power. He can take control of our tongues through his amazing gift of speaking in tongues. This is a gracious gift given to us by our loving Father to empower us to speak in line with his will. The gift of speaking in tongues enables us to speak words that are edifying, creative, life-giving, empowering, energising, and that build up others and us:
(1 Corinthians 14:4 NKJV) He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself …
(1 Corinthians 14:2 NKJV) For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
What’s more, while we are speaking in tongues, we are certainly not giving the devil access to our words; he will not be able to use them to set anything on fire for hell, there will be no poison coming from them, and there will be no destructive power coming out of our mouths—only creative, loving, edifying, and faith-filled words of positive power; this is the blessing at work.
Finally, you can pray and ask God directly to help you with your words and to help control your tongue:
(Psalm 141:3 NKJV) Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.
Today, I encourage you to make the decision to speak only good words by putting only good words into your heart. In parallel, ensure that you do not swallow, imbibe, meditate on, or accept any of the devil’s worldly words. When your heart is full of love, kindness, goodness, and God’s words, your mouth will be ruled by God himself through his Living Word and Spirit.
In addition, make the decision today to speak in tongues more than you ever have before. As you do, the Holy Spirit will be giving the words for you to say that achieve his purpose, and certainly allow none of the devil’s destructive words to come through you. Most certainly, ask the God with whom nothing is impossible to help you in this. Moreover, as an amazing bonus, when you give an account of your words, you will have great joy—knowing that you have spoken the word of God:
(Ephesians 4:29 NKJV) Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
(Matthew 12:36–37 NKJV) “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. {37} For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”