“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Proverbs 15:1 NIV
Have you ever seen how a garden might appear well-kept and calm and when it is stirred many detestable creatures emerge? Of all the things in my life it is perhaps my words and their lurking presence which I am unaware until it restlessly stirs within me that causes many problems. I think about most of the sin in my life and I can find a link between my actions and my tongue. Yes, first my mind thinks of something … isn’t that what God said, whatever is in our heart and minds will come out of our mouth? When stirred look at what comes out of a person’s mouth and you will gain an insight to their hearts. The tongue is such a small part of our body and yet James’s says, “It corrupts the whole body, and is itself set on fire by hell.” James 3:5 Those are some strong words to use about such a small part of our bodies. I think it’s because we do not fully comprehend the amount of damage that the careless use of our tongue can cause, or sometimes we know the damage but in the moment we do not care. For the pressure of life has turned up too much and the steam of our heart is about to come whistling forth. It is then that we see what is inside and it will be our first true look of what lies within. James ask us how both good and bad things can come from the same source? So, if our mouth speaks from what is in the inside then the question is this…what is inside our hearts? Many of us can go around day to day and look pretty good, but let life turn up the heat and then we shall see what it unleashes.
If what is inside of us is good, then what the mouth produces will be good. This then is one of those moments for each of us to reflect on what we produce. When the pressure is on what does our tongue cultivate and what lurks beneath that soil?
“Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” James 3:10 NIV
Anchor In The Storm 