Words of Fire

The last few days I have been confronted with a couple different consistent themes. One of those themes has been the use of words. The dangers of the 'tongue' is something that the Bible speaks often about. As James puts it: "So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!" "(James 3:5)

I've noticed that as our culture decays, even advertisements are not free from the evils of speech. Even so called conservative politicians and pundits, ones you'd think would stick closer to a Biblical worldview, drop words in their ads and tweets that, in my opinion, should not be used by anyone claiming a higher moral standard.

It's even worse when Christians engage in the misuse of speech. And yet, we all can be guilty of this in some form or another from time to time, can't we?

When we choose to tear down instead of build up, when we use words unbecoming of us, when we cause division instead of bring peace, when we favor an untruth for the truth, we are failing and falling for the very thing James warns us against.

To follow James' analogy, think of it: you choose to say something hurtful to a friend or coworker, and their mood is then affected. They then are confronted with a difficult person and now that their mood is worse because of you, they choose an unkind word. That person then goes on and does the same. This effect continues and before you know it, the small flame (the word you spoke) has turned into a wildfire.

If you've got nothing good to say, don't say anything at all, right?

Sometimes, I think that the wrong way is chosen because frankly, it's easier. It's easier to hide behind the veil of snarky-ness than to be real with people. I'm not saying that's always the reason, but I believe at times, it is. I'm not sure, it's food for thought. And I'm guilty.

But whatever the reason behind it, it's still wrong to choose sinful speech. Are all sarcastic remarks bad? No, of course not. But when we don't watch our tongue, arrows fly.

So where does this come from? James says at the end of verse 6 that the tongue is set on fire by hell itself.

"It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man." Matthew 15:11

The pharisees of Jesus' day were more concerned with the ceremonial laws (and their additions to them) than the condition of their hearts. This is evidenced by their words.

These distorted priorities are not solely a 1st century problem. Even in the church today, many professing believers attempting to stand on a moral high-ground, undercut themselves through their use of speech. Without getting into the weeds, this can be from a lack of using the right words, or from using the wrong ones. Hateful words are wrong for the believer, but so is a cowardly lack of words. You can apply that as needed.

But ultimately it's a heart issue; the things that come out, come out of the overflow of the heart.

When you read Paul's chapter on the definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13, you know that love is shown in what we do, but also oftentimes in what we say. For example kindness (vs. 4) is often shown through a kind word. Bragging (what love is not) is also expressed by our use of the tongue.

Our words betray our inward thoughts and motives, They show the attitude of our heart. They show that we don't love others the way we're called to. They show we think a little more highly of ourselves and our opinions than we do about what God actually calls us to.

And so we need to learn to love more, to view ourselves rightly, and to view others as they are: image-bearers of God.

So let us put off sinful speech, relying on God and His word to do so. Let us put on things like kind words, encouraging comments, and uplifting speech. May we be bold in righteous words and not be cowards. But may we also not compromise Biblical love for haughty and hurtful words for the sake of social media clicks.

May we saturate ourselves with godly language, pray that we would be filled in our hearts with love for God and those who bear His image. And may we one day tame the tongue.

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