The Tongue
The Tongue.
The tongue is an interesting part of the body.
From the source of information, Wikipedia…
“The tongue is a muscle on the floor of the mouth that manipulates food for chewing and swallowing (deglutition). It is the primary organ of taste, as much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds. A secondary function of the tongue is speech. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva, and is richly supplied with nerves and blood vessels to help it move.”
A secondary function of the tongue is speech, and yet we treat our tongue as though that is the primary function. There is great power in that secondary function. There is power to build up someone, to encourage them and move them forward into doing something. And there is power to tear someone down, to strip them of their dignity, and to humiliate them. That secondary function of the tongue is pretty powerful.
I remember hearing my dad talk about how we can destroy each other with words when I would fight with my sisters. There were times when we would go after each other pretty good with our words and come pretty close to destruction.
Scripture is pretty clear about the use of our tongues. James 3:1-12 talks about how the tongue has the power to direct the course of our lives, has the power to destroy, needs taming, and can praise and curse people. It’s powerful! Scripture also points out that speech is only a secondary function of the tongue. What the tongue says is really only a spring of the heart (verse 12), and when we have bad stuff in our hearts, it will be evidenced by what is said by our tongue.
If our tongue is really only a mirror for our heart, it might be time for some of us to do some soul searching. It might be time to take a deep look at what is influencing us and how our hearts are being molded and shaped by the God of the universe. Is God in control of our hearts, or are we?
This Sunday, Ken will talk about these issues found in James Chapter 3.
-Pastor Chris Rollman
