More people have died from the power of the tongue than by any weapon humanity has ever devised.
The world saw the massive destruction of the atomic bomb, as it was called in World War II, when it was dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. And we have seen what can happen when stringent safety standards are not followed after what took place at Chernobyl.
Yet the most dangerous weapon and the most toxic pollutant on earth is left unchecked: the human tongue. What we need is tongue control, because the tongue, or our words, can do more damage than any weapon that has ever been built. Behind every weapon ever used is rhetoric. Persuasion is what brings certain events about.
The Bible describes the power of the tongue this way: “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 body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell” (James 3:5–6 NIV).
James goes on to give a number of different pictures of the tongue, including that of a bit placed in the mouth of an animal (verse 3). With a bit and a bridle, one person can control a whole team of horses. Without it, a hundred men could not do it. It’s an amazing thing that even a child on the back of a large, muscular stallion can essentially control that horse – if the child understands how the bit and bridle are to be used and knows how to hold the reins.
Some years ago I went to the Rose Parade, and one of the most memorable sights was seeing a man riding down the boulevard on the back of a buffalo. I had never seen anything quite like it. I have seen buffaloes out in the wild, but I had never seen anyone ride one. With nothing more than a bit and a bridle, the rider came galloping down the street on the beast. It looked like something out of “Star Wars.” It was unbelievable. It just shows you what a small bit can do.
A powerful animal controlled with nothing more than a bit in its mouth can render a great service. But uncontrolled, it can do much harm. In the same way, a controlled tongue can be a great blessing. But uncontrolled it can do much damage.
Just as a horse is controlled by a bit, we are controlled by our words. Think about how one word or one statement can set the direction of life. The single word of a judge can condemn us or forgive us. Saying “I do” to someone means marriage. Saying “I don’t” to the temptation of an extra marital affair can mean the saving of that marriage. Saying “I will” to the claims of Christ can change your eternal destiny. Our words so dramatically affect the course our lives will take.
James points out that the tongue is “a small part of the body,” but it can do so much damage. We might size up someone who appears to be a threat. We’ll notice their bulging biceps or their strong chin or their muscular legs. But what we ought to be worried about is that little two-ounce slab of mucus membrane in their mouths. The tongue can do more damage than anything else.
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Adolf Hitler is a classic example of what can happen when someone dedicates his life and, indeed, his words to darkness and evil. His powerful and persuasive speeches sent an entire nation down the road to hell because they believed in the rhetoric of a madman who dedicated his words to Satan. The result was the senseless slaughter of millions of Jews – and committed Christians as well.
James went on to say, “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell” (verse 6 NIV). In other words, the uncontrolled tongue has a direct pipeline to hell. As Proverbs 18:21 tells us, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (NIV).
You might be surprised to know that some of the greatest people God ever used had a problem with their tongues. Take Job for instance. God himself called Job blameless and upright. But Job had trouble controlling his tongue, as revealed in the final chapter of his book when he said, “I am unworthy – how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth” (Job 40:4 NIV).
Isaiah certainly was one of God’s choice servants. But it’s interesting that when he came into the presence of God, he said, “Woe to me! … I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5 NIV).
As Isaiah stood in the presence of a perfect and holy God, the first thing he became aware of was the fact that he misused his words, that he had used his tongue wrongly.
Without question, Moses was one of the greatest men God ever used. But he, too, had trouble with his tongue at times. It was written of him, “Rash words came from Moses’ lips” (Psalm 106:33 NIV). Apparently, Moses, too, struggled with controlling his tongue.
Even the silver-tongued orator of the Christian church, the apostle Paul, had trouble with his tongue. On one occasion as he stood before Ananias, the high priest, Ananias commanded that Paul be hit in the face. When that command was carried out, Paul retorted, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” (Acts 23:3 NIV)
It gives me hope to know that even God’s greatest had struggles in this area.
To whom is your tongue dedicated right now? Dedicated to God, our words can be a powerful force for good. But dedicated to the devil and left unchecked, our words – and our tongues – are the most destructive power on earth.
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