No matter how carefully we watch what we do with our hands, where we go, what we hear, or what we see, what we say is essential to living a Christian life. James says that if one claims to be religious and does not control his tongue, his religion is vain (James 1:26).

James describes the tongue in chapter 3 as: a fire, a world of iniquity, defiles the whole body, sets on fire the course of nature, is set on fire by hell, cannot be tamed by man. Truly, every bad thing seems to begin with the tongue.

It isn’t hard to think of ways the tongue can harm. There is anger, bragging, complaining, sarcasm, gossip, lying, swearing, profanity, and idle words. We are familiar with people who are guilty of one or more of these, and we can even see ourselves in some of those sins.

I think we can see ourselves in examples from the Bible. We may not want to admit that we are like some of the people we read about; but, if we are honest, I think we will have to agree that we are sometimes just like them.

For instance, there is Peter. He was always getting himself into trouble, usually by something he said. The ultimate issue for Peter came at the trial of Jesus in Matthew 26. As he sat in the outer court, listening to the accusations brought against the Savior, Peter was approached three times about knowing Jesus. All three times, Peter denied it; but the last time, he became angry. He actually took an oath that he didn’t even know Jesus (Matthew 26:72).

In the book of Acts, we read about King Herod and his problem with bragging. He appeared before the people in his royal apparel and made a speech. The people declared him to be a god, and Herod accepted the praise. “And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost” (Acts 12:23).  

Over and over in the journey of the Israelites toward the land of Canaan, we read how the people murmured and complained about a variety of things. The first time is found in Exodus 17 when the people complained that they did not have water. Instead of asking him to ask God for help, they became so worked up that Moses said to God, “They are almost ready to stone me” (verse 4).

We can see the sarcasm in the disciples when they came together to celebrate the last supper with Jesus. When the woman came with the precious ointment and poured it on Jesus’ head, the disciples began to make remarks about her foolishness. They said, “To what purpose is this waste?” and “This ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor” (Matthew 26:8-9).

Even among the disciples, there was jealousy; and where there is jealousy, there is gossip. In Matthew 20, the mother of James and John approached Jesus with a request. She wanted her sons to have a special place in Jesus’ kingdom. When the other disciples heard her request, verse 24 says, “And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.” Obviously, there was a lot of gossip among the disciples.

There are many examples in scripture about lying. One of the most famous is found in Acts 5 where Ananias and Sapphira sold land to give to the apostles for the support of those in need in Jerusalem. They lied about the amount they received for the land, and both were struck dead. Peter told Ananias, “Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?” Then he told Ananias, “Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God” (Acts 5:3-4).

Swearing and profanity are not new in our culture. Both have been around a long time. Those that worshiped idols had a habit of swearing by the sun, moon, and stars, all of which they worshiped. James specifically tells us not to swear in verse 12 of chapter 5. He says, “Swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. Jesus gave a similar command in Matthew 5:33-37.

In Matthew 12:34-37, Jesus condemned the Pharisees, calling them a bunch of snakes. He condemned them because what came out of their mouths was evil, yet they claimed to be good. Then He said, “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

Idle words are useless words. Idle words come from tattlers and busybodies according to I Timothy 5:13. In this passage, Paul is telling Timothy about young widows that don’t have their priorities straight. Instead, they become gossipers, carrying useless information from one person to another.

In which of these examples do we see ourselves? Maybe it is just one, or maybe it is more than one. James says, “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (James 1:19). Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, “…Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”

So, be careful little mouth what you say!

Sandra Oliver