Sunday, March 27, 2011

2011-03-27 At the Core: Taming the Tongue

****The following is a draft of the message for March 27, 2011 at Sunrise UMC****

No matter what title you may carry or what distinction you may have been awarded, what is at our core will become evident at some point in time.

Over the last few weeks, we have been looking at various conditions if which we have the potential to harbor in our core, way deep inside the fabric of our being.

In the movie, The King’s Speech, there is a scene where Bertie, who will later become King George VI, is visiting a speech therapist because of a bad stammer. In simpler terms, he has a problem with his tongue.

As we think about it though, you don’t have to stammer or stutter to have a problem with your tongue. It has the ability to cause all sorts of problems.

James 3:1-12

1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. 3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

In this passage, James describes the tongue in very different ways. First, the positive images:

· It’s used for teaching

· A bit to guide a horse

· A rudder to steer a ship

· It’s used to praise God

But James also portrayed the tongue in some negative ways:

· Used to boast

· A little flame that can set a forest ablaze

· A fire, a world of evil

· It corrupts the whole body

· An uncontrollable evil filled with deadly poison

· Used to curses our brothers and sisters made in our Creator’s image

· And it cannot be tamed.

What!? Did you hear that…..no one can tame the tongue? What are we supposed to do with that? I mean, if no one can tame it, what are we doing wasting our time studying this? Well, I believe we can do something about it.

Pray with me.

Lord, we know that with our tongues we praise You, and we tear down people. We know this isn’t right. We know we’ve hurt others with our words. We have no hope of taming our tongues without You. We need Your Spirit to help us quiet our tongues a bit, to help us not be thinking of the next thing we want to say. Help us hear Your word today. Let Your word sink in and change us at our core. Amen.

Historically, the assessment of the tongue has been an important part of a medical examination. From the days of Hippocrates through the latter decades of the 19th century, the tongue was considered an important index of health, and was considered a crucial part of diagnosis. It was considered “a mirror of the body.”

I think that is what James is saying in Chapter 3. Let’s look again at verses 9-12.

James 3:9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

The tongue is not just an indicator of our physical health, it is a mirror for our spiritual health. Our words reflect what is at our core.

I would like for you to think of your tongue as a litmus test to determine the acidity of your core. If your core is toxic, what you spew out on those around you is going to hurt them badly.

Salty springs don’t give fresh water, and fig trees don’t bear olives. It just doesn’t happen. Our words reflect what is down deep inside us. They show what we are truly made of. That’s a heavy thought.

The real problem with my tongue is that my core is not healthy. What’s at your core IS GOING TO come out of your mouth. What comes out of your mouth either builds up or tears down. And so many times we tear down.

You’ve heard the old adage: “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but…” what??

[have them say…….”words will never hurt me.”]

Who believes that? I heal a lot faster from a bruise on my body, than from harsh words that bruise my heart. The sting of hurtful words can last for months or years, and remembered even longer.

How many of us have said something, and as soon as we said it, we wish we could take it back? Or, you could be in a heated argument, you let your emotions get the best of you, and you say something hurtful. Before the words even have time to fade away, you wish you could take them back. But you can’t. They escaped from your core out into the world for everyone to hear. When our core erupts, what damage does it do to the other person’s core?

There is a story about a woman who went to St. Francis of Assisi and asked what she had to do to be forgiven for her gossiping. St. Francis told her to take feathers and to place one at the doorstep of everyone she had spoken ill of in the town. She did so, and then returned to St. Francis. St. Francis told her to then go and retrieve all the feathers. When she attempted to do so, they were all gone. By that time, the feathers were scattered all around town. Once again, she returned to St. Francis and told him about the feathers. He said to her, “You wish to repent and be forgiven of your sin. Good. But the damage of your words is done and cannot be taken back.”

Our words, from this one small muscle in our body, have such power. Words can destroy friendships [give some pause after each one….you might name a few more]

families

individuals

reputations

churches

to name a few.

But our tongues can also be used to praise God, to build up other people, and to build the kingdom. It all goes back to what’s at our core.

James doesn’t leave us completely lost in a hopeless situation. He gives us some advice.

A. Just because we may not be able to tame the tongue doesn’t mean we can’t try to control it! The problem is we don’t try to control it—so it controls us. We have become so obsessed with being heard that we hardly listen to anything anybody says! God gave you two ears and one mouth…Was he trying to make a point?

Controlling the tongue is practically simple, but horribly difficult to do. It takes practice.

Are you ready to try> Are you readyfor what could be the most profound statement that you have ever heard? Are you ready for a phrase that could change your life forever?

SHUT YOUR MOUTH!

Did he just say that? I know he didn’t just say what I think he said! You better believe I did.. it is that simple... just shut your mouth. Now James says it a little more nicely back in the first chapter:

James 1:19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,

One way to control our tongue is to be quiet, and “put on our listening ears.” Listen. Really listen to the other person. If anyone’s feet is getting stepped on friends, it’s mine! Don’t be so quick to speak. Don’t be so fast to waggle your tongue. Don’t sit there thinking about what you are going to say next while they are trying to tell you something. And don’t tell me you don’t do that!!

Look at the pundits on the 24-hours news channels. They get several heads on the screen, all arguing about something. They’re talking about what they want to say. They don’t listen. They hardly stop talking. One person will start talking, and before they’ve gotten half sentence out, another person is interrupting. This is not a conversation or discussion. This is people just talking to hear themselves talk.

Don’t our arguments sound a bit like that? Wouldn’t our disagreements do a lot less damage if we really, really listened? And then, if we really, really thought about how we would respond?

Being quiet and listening is great step. But just being quiet doesn’t address the heart of the issue.

B. So we need to look even a little deeper. Another way to guard our tongue is to work on our core. Look back at verse 21, and remember that our words are really a litmus test for our core.

James 1:21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

God planted his word in us…and through His word, can help us get rid of the filth and evil at our core. He can help us guard our tongues and watch our words. But we can’t just listen to His word, we’ve got to DO it. Look at the verses that follow…

James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

Let’s not let our religion be worthless. Today, we’ve looked in the mirror. God has revealed to you a part of your core that you weren’t aware of. Let’s not be like the person who gets a glimpse of the truth, and then walks away unchanged. Let God, through His Spirit, change you to the core.

Would you like a challenge for this week? Try to go a whole week without having to apologize for what you say. (Not not apologizing, but not having to apologize). To do that you have to practice James 1:19.

James 1:19b Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,

This week, maybe we need to shut our mouths, silence our tongues a bit. [pause] Listen more. [pause] Let God clean up our core before we are so quick to speak.

Let’s pray.

Lord, only You can give us the power to control our tongues. Only You can help us clean up our core. We ask for Your power and Your help this week. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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