Yesterday, I had the privilege of sharing the Word with the Jr. High students at church again. I love this group because they are never shy to share their thoughts and feelings about any topic that is at hand. This week we talked about the power of our words to build up or destroy. We especially focused on gossip and foul language, which tend to be HUGE problems in Jr. High.
The discussion was so good yesterday that I had to cut out the last thought I was going to share with the group, so I thought I would post it here.
My thought is that our tongues steer our lives in many ways. James tells us at the beginning of chapter 3 that the tongue is like a bit that goes in a horses mouth (v. 3) or a rudder of a ship (v.4). In other words, James tells us that our tongue sets the course for where our lives go. The filter (or lack thereof) of things that come out of your mouth is a great determinant of the effect Jesus is having on your life.
As we mature in Jesus, what we say and talk about changes. Instead of gossip, slander, and foul language, our tongue begins to brim with encouragement, positive thoughts, and helpful language. The beautiful thing about this change is that we also become the kind of person others want to be around. Everyone enjoys a positive, encouraging person over a gossiping, discouraging one.
That's the beauty of God's economy. As we become more like him, our life become more attractive to others because it becomes obvious that we have a joy that the rest of the world doesn't.
In the end, if we can tame the tongue, with the help of Jesus, then there is nothing about ourselves we can't control.
amen
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