"Tongue in Check"

“Tongue in Check”

(Thanks to Karen for this and the following articles’ titles)

This past September I paid my dentist a visit to have a crown put on a troublesome molar. (For more than one reason I’m glad he didn’t have occasion to sing “Crown Him with Many Crowns”!) The process took about an hour and hopefully the repair will last as long as I need it provided I don’t overuse it by eating too much!

During the procedure the dentist had to caution me to keep my tongue out of the way. After several reminders he put some gizmo in my mouth to keep it from wandering where it shouldn’t be so he could do his work. Since there’s an instrument available for this purpose I guess I’m not the first one to have the problem of lack of tongue control.

As I sat in the chair while the treatment was going on I thought about the difficulty I had controlling my tongue in another way. In his indictment of mankind before God the Apostle Paul quotes David when he writes, “…They use their tongues to deceive (to mislead and to deal treacherously).” (Romans 3:13, Amplified, from Psalm 5:9). Then I remembered the words of Jesus’ brother to his fellow believers: “…The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person…no (one) can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” (James 3:5-8). How has God’s family (not to mention our earthly families) been impacted negatively by my failure to keep my tongue in check?

God’s Word uses contrasts to show the problems of careless speech and the blessings of properly using this gift: “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” (Proverbs 10:19); “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.” (Proverbs 12:19); “Words from a wise (person’s) mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips.” (Ecclesiastes 10:12).

During World War II the War Advertising Council created the phrase “Loose lips sink ships” to warn the public of the dangers of unguarded talk. As God’s people we’d do well to remember “Loose lips can destroy people’s lives and reputations”. So please pray with David and me, “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.” (Psalm 141:3).

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan