| The Christian Life | October 1942 |
The Power of the Tongue
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”—Ephesians 4:29
IT IS difficult to over-estimate the power of words, for either good or evil. Practically all the viewpoints and activities of the human race are the result of words—spoken or written. Through the Bible God has revealed His plan to His people by means of words, and by means of words Satan has deceived mankind concerning God and His loving plans. Words constitute the vehicle by which thoughts are transmitted from one mind to another, and are the means, therefore, whereby one individual influences another to say and do things. How great then is the responsibility of every Christian in seeing to it that his every word is of a character that will be unctuous and blessed to all who hear, ministering “grace unto the hearers.”
“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” (Matt. 12:34) This means that we talk about the things that are uppermost in our minds and therefore that our conversation reflects our true heart condition. The best example of this is that of our Heavenly Father. The Bible records His words, His conversations, pertaining to mankind, and in those words is revealed His attitude toward the fallen race. God’s words also reveal His attitude toward the church, what He thinks of those who follow the Master, and what He purposes to do for them.
As we ponder God’s words we become convinced that He loves us, cares for us, forgives us, strengthens us, and cherishes us. These things we know concerning God because He talks to us through His Word, and by His words we know that the church is a precious treasure unto Him, a treasure that is as dear to Him as the apple of His eye. On our part we know that we are fallen and imperfect, and that we often say and do things which misrepresent God, yet, according to His own words He holds no malice toward us but is ever willing to forgive and forget because He loves us.
To a very large degree God carries out His plans by means of His words in the hearts and lives of His servants. In keeping with this, He says, “My Word, that goeth forth out of My mouth, shall not return unto Me void, but shall accomplish that which I please and shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isa. 55:11) Miracle-working power is displayed through the diffusion of God’s words among His people. God does not talk to us direct, but through the written messages of the Scriptures. These messages were penned under the inspiration of God’s Spirit, or power. This means that when we come to the Bible in sincere humility to know God’s will He meets us there and talks to us. If we accept His advice and do His will it means that our lives are being drawn to Him by the power of His mind.
BE YE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT
It is God’s will for us that we be filled with His Spirit. This, in a practical way, means that His thoughts fill our minds—that they become our thoughts, and the fountain from which springs our conversation. To have God’s thoughts fill our minds instead of our own, means that we must give heed to His words. To give heed to God’s words we need to study them and become more and more familiar with them. How much we would appreciate the privilege of talking face to face with the Creator of the universe. Certainly we would not permit anything to stand in the way of our using such a wonderful opportunity should it be presented to us; yet God does talk to us through His Word, and how often we permit trivial things to hinder us from meeting Him in its blessed pages.
Filling the mind with God’s thoughts is something with which each individual Christian should be concerned, and all followers of the Master can help each other along this line. That is why we are encouraged to meet together. Paul speaks of this saying, “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be ye filled with the Spirit: speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and, spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart unto the Lord.” (Eph. 5:18,19) What a beautifully descriptive statement this is of the overflowing of holy thoughts from the mind of one Christian to another when they meet together for mutual edification!
Our text admonishes us to speak words that are “good,” that are “edifying,” and that minister “grace” to the hearer. There is only one way to make sure that this admonition is carried out in our lives, namely, to keep our minds filled with God’s thoughts, and to be submissive to and delight in those thoughts. True, the Scriptures admonish us to set a guard upon our lips, but unless our hearts and minds are filled with the thoughts of God, our words will not minister grace to the hearers. Our flesh is imperfect, and long before we consecrated to do God’s will many base and corrupt thoughts were permitted to enter our minds. These are still there, and are constantly inviting other thoughts that are out of harmony with God, so we need to be on guard, not only to keep impure thoughts out of our minds, but to prevent the tongue from giving utterance to thoughts which we are trying to keep suppressed.
It is well that the apostle admonished, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth,” and our endeavor along this line should be more than merely a negative one. As already noted, it is out of the “abundance” of the heart that the mouth speaketh. If that which is overflowing in our hearts is corrupt, base, selfish and hateful it will be utterly impossible to prevent the tongue from giving utterance to such thoughts. On the other hand, if the overflow of our hearts is that of God’s love, revealed by His words to us, then our habits of conversation will be concerning the things of God. In an off-guarded moment some sediment of selfishness may temporarily influence the tongue to speak impure or bitter words, but these will be quickly recalled and forgiveness asked by those in whose hearts there is an overflow of the thoughts of God.
THE TONGUE CANNOT BE TAMED
In the third chapter of James the apostle gives us a wonderful lesson in how to control the tongue. In verse 8, he declares that the “tongue can no man tame.” We should not take this to mean that there is little use in trying to control our words, for this is not what the apostle means, as is shown in the remaining verses of the chapter. In verses 9 and 10 he says concerning the tongue, “Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”
Then the apostle inquires: “Doth a fountain send forth at, the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.” The lesson is obvious. The tongue cannot be tamed because it is but the organ of our thoughts. It simply gives utterance to the thoughts which dominate our minds. Thus, if we find ourselves praising God at one time, and cursing men at another, it means that our own selfish and debased thoughts are filling our minds sufficiently to partly control our tongues.
While normally a fountain does not send forth both bitter and sweet water, yet the apostle’s lesson is that this is what actually occurs in the case of those who utter bitter words against their brethren. The reason for this is that they are “double-minded.” The cure for this is set forth in chapter 4, verse 8, where the apostle says, “Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.” In chapter 1, verse 8 of this same epistle, James says that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. One evidence of being unstable is that of an apparent enthusiasm for the things of God and at the same time a disposition to pour forth impure words of slander and hatred of the brethren.
If we find that we are thus giving utterance to things that are not good for the use of edifying, let’s not blame our tongues, but rather seek to purify our hearts. This can be done only by filling our minds more and more with God’s thoughts as they are revealed to us in His Word. But this cannot be done in our own strength. We need to look to the Lord for help, praying as did the Psalmist, to be cleansed, and expecting that this cleansing will be accomplished by washing with the water of the Word.
THE WISDOM FROM ABOVE
After raising the questions as to whether a fountain can send forth both sweet and bitter water, and whether a fig tree can bear olive berries, James inquires further: “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.” Here the apostle is telling us that a “good conversation” is an, evidence that one possesses wisdom. This, however, does not mean worldly wisdom, but rather the wisdom which is from above.
Contrasting the effect of wisdom that is not from above, James continues: “But if ye have bitter envyings and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.” (Ch. 3:14-16) The “confusion” here mentioned is what the apostle illustrates by bitter and sweet water. It means that our hearts are impure, that we are only partly for the Lord and that we are making room in our hearts for selfish, impure thoughts, which in turn find expression through the tongue. Thus it is that “out of the same mouth proceedeth blessings and cursings. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”
The “wisdom that is from above” is the sum total of the words which come from God, the words that are recorded in the sacred Scriptures. This wisdom has been liberally provided in the Word of God, but it is not obtainable by the casual and unconsecrated reader. As already suggested, we must seek this wisdom through prayer, and sincere prayer involves humility before God, a humility that will enable us to cast aside our own thoughts as guiding influences in our lives, and accept instead the thoughts of God. Concerning this James says, “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”—Ch. 1:5-8
There is little use of our praying to God for wisdom unless we are willing to be emptied of self. If our attitude is, “some of self and some of Thee,” then we are wavering, or double-minded, and our prayers will be ineffective. The fallen human heart is deceitful, hence we will need to be constantly on guard against the encroachments of selfish, impure thoughts and desires, which in turn will find expression through our words to the injury of others as well as of ourselves.
HEAVENLY WISDOM FIRST PURE
James tells us that the wisdom which is from above is “first pure.” (James 3:17) To be pure means to be unadulterated, unmixed. To be endowed with heavenly wisdom, then, would mean that one is not double-minded, and thus unstable. While every true follower of the Master will want to be cleansed from gross sins and unclean practices, it would seem that James is referring to something that is more heart-searching than that. He has told us of bitter envyings and strifes among the brethren, and that those who practice such things are not displaying heavenly wisdom, but are lying against the truth. He explains that “where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”—Ch. 3:14-16
It is hard to understand why consecrated Christians would indulge in “envying and strife” among themselves, but such was apparently the case in the early church, and it is a condition against which we all need even now to be on guard. And this strife often pertains to things in the church, such, as seeking positions of honor, etc. These things do not always occur in the meetings; in fact, more often they go on among the brethren outside of the meetings, destroying the spirit of good fellowship that could otherwise be enjoyed, and by which all concerned could be edified.
When such a condition exists there is great need of earnest prayer for the wisdom which is first pure. If our hearts are wholly filled with God’s words, and our lives fully devoted to obeying them, there will be no desire for selfish striving among us. This doesn’t mean that we will overlook that which is wrong, doctrinally, or otherwise, but it does mean that in discerning the right, we will adhere to it, and with the spirit of kindness and love will endeavor to help others do the same. If others wish to take a wrong course, we will leave them in the Lord’s hands and not pass sentence upon them.
If we are filled with the wisdom from above which is first pure, there will be no “corrupt communication” come forth from our mouths, but only that which is good to the use of edifying. Sometimes personal grievances against others may lead to doctrinal corruption of the mind and heart, and if our understanding of the truth becomes distorted by selfishness, then our words will be impure and will tend to cause confusion among the brethren. Thus one evil leads to another.
If we sincerely desire to be the greatest blessing possible to our brethren, let’s first see to it that our hearts are purified, not only with respect to our love for the brethren, but with respect to the truth which is the basis of our fellowship with them. If we humbly pray for heavenly wisdom, and are desirous of being wholly committed to the doing of the Lord’s will, He will give us the necessary spirit of discernment so that we will not need to be double-minded. In the Riverside Translation of Philippians 1:9-11, Paul is quoted as saying: “And this is my prayer that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and all insight, so that you may discriminate between the things that differ, that you may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of knowledge through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.”
THINGS THAT DIFFER
If we try to entertain thoughts and viewpoints that differ, it means that we are double-minded. True love and wisdom will enable us to distinguish between the things that differ, choose the right, and steadfastly adhere to it, while lovingly seeking to help others do the same. If we advocate that it doesn’t make any difference what viewpoint we take, then our “conversation” has a corrupting influence upon the brethren. Yes, beloved, true wisdom from above is “first pure.” An unstable, vacillating attitude is not healthy for any Christian.
The Lord wants us to love the brethren, and He wants us to love the world; yea, He wants us to love our enemies. This all-comprehensive love is so fundamentally important in the Christian life that if we do not exercise it, we will fail to make our calling and election sure. To love our erring brethren, however, does not imply the necessity of agreeing with them, nor of bidding Godspeed to their ministry. To love the people of the world does not call for fellowshiping with the world; nor does the loving of our enemies mean that we countenance what they may do.
Wisdom from above directs us in the proper exercise of love with respect to all with whom we come in contact. This wisdom being first pure, dictates that we can have full fellowship with and support only those who are in harmony with God and with His truth. We will love all others and try to do all we can for them, not by walking with them, but by pointing out to them the better way. To try to fellowship with those who differ might lead to either a suppressing of the truth, or a corrupting of our conversation. In any case, we must hold to the truth for our words to be truly edifying to the brethren in the sense of building them up in the most holy faith.
The wisdom from above is first pure, then “peaceable,” James says. (Ch. 3:17) We are to dwell in peace and harmony with “all men” so far as possible, says the Apostle Paul (Rom. 12:18), and especially so with the brethren, but we are not to seek peace at any price. In our desire to fellowship all the brethren, we are not to put peace ahead of principle, especially the principle of purity of doctrine and conduct. If our conversation is governed by the desire never to offend others, then it is almost certain to be “corrupt,” that is, adulterated with that which is not in harmony with the Lord. Such a course would be putting peace ahead of purity, and even though we might succeed in having all men speak well of us, we still would be subject to the “woe” which is the lot of those who are not wholly loyal to the Lord and to His truth.
Peace, when based upon purity, is a wonderful quality to be displayed among the brethren. And. there is really no other way to have genuine peace than to insist that purity come first. But let us make sure that the purity test of our fellowship is based upon the naked principles of truth, and not merely upon coveted opinions of men. And let us remember, too, that the Lord has not constituted us spiritual policemen delegated to keep the brethren in line with whims of our own.
There were brethren in the early church who apparently were great sticklers for certain forms and customs, which, while probably not wrong in themselves, could not properly be used as a. basis of contention in the church. Nor is it the privilege of one brother to insist that another live up to his particular standard with respect to these minor details. It would be possible even now for strife to be engendered in an Ecclesia by one or more insisting how others should conduct themselves in connection with details not specifically mentioned in the Bible. Conversation along these lines would be corrupt because not based upon the great truths which should be the real theme of our fellowship. In such an event we would have neither purity nor peace. Along this line the following quotation from “The New Creation” is to the point:
“CONSCIENTIOUS MEDDLING”
“‘Busy bodying in other men’s matters’ is severely reproved by the Apostle, as wholly inconsistent with the new minds of the New Creation. (I Tim. 5:13; I Pet. 4:15) A busybody is one who busies himself in the affairs of others, with which he has properly nothing whatever to do. Even the ‘children of this world’ are wise enough in their generation to discern that in the brief span of present life a person of reasonably sound mind has quite sufficient to occupy him in attending to his own business properly; and that if he should give sufficient attention to the business of others to be thoroughly competent to advise them and meddle in their concerns he would surely be neglecting to some extent his own affairs. Much more should the New Creatures, begotten of the Lord to the spirit of a sound mind, realize this truth, and additionally realize that they have still less time than the world for meddling in the affairs of others, their time being not their own, because of their full consecration of time, talent, influence, all to the Lord and his service.
“Such, even if lacking a naturally sound mind on this subject, will be constrained in the right direction by the injunctions of the Scriptures, and by the realization that the time is short for the fulfillment of their covenanted sacrifice. They should also realize that the Golden Rule, the law of the New Creation, prohibits everything akin to busybodying. Assuredly they would not appreciate having others meddle in their business, and should be equally careful to do to others as they would be done by. The Apostle realized, nevertheless, that the reverse of this is the general worldly spirit, and hence, admonishes the saints to study, to practice, to learn, along this line. His words are, ‘Study to be quiet, and to do your own business.’—I Thess.4:11
“This natural disposition to be careful about the affairs of others, and to lend a hand in correcting them, and in picking motes out of a brother’s eye, to the neglect of the beam in one’s own eye, as the Lord illustrated the matter (Matt. 7:3-5), sometimes attacks the New Creature in a peculiar form. He fancies that it is his ‘duty’ to advise, to pick, to investigate, to chide, to reprove. As he turns the matter over in his mind he convinces himself that not to do so would be sin; and thus he becomes what we might designate a conscientious busybody, or meddler—one whose meddlesomeness is made doubly strong and aggressive by a misinformed and misdirected conscience. These, often sincere and good people, veritable New Creatures, are hindered by this flaw in all that they attempt to do in the Lord’s service. Each should take himself in hand, and learn to apply the rules of justice and love already pointed out. He should educate his conscience to discriminate between brotherly duty and busybodying; and so far as our observation goes the majority of the Lord’s people as well as of the world, would find themselves doing a great deal less chiding, rebuking, fault-finding and picking, after coming to appreciate the rules of justice and of love, as combined in the Golden Rule and applied to the affairs of life and their intercourse with others.”—Vol. 6, p.p. 583,584
“GENTLE AND EASY TO BE ENTREATED”
The wisdom from above, which is to be the guiding principle back of our every word, is also to be gentle and easily entreated, says the apostle. This means that a Christian should not be domineering in his attitude toward others, and not be so sure that he is right that he will be unwilling to listen to others. We miss many blessings in life if we are not good listeners. We cannot learn from God unless we are willing to listen to Him when He speaks. Many times God sends us important lessons through the brethren, and if we insist upon doing all the talking, and not listening to our brethren, we miss much that God has for us.
To be gentle, however, does not mean to be weak-minded; nor does “easily entreated” mean to be blown about by every wind of doctrine. We should be firm in our conviction of truth, and uncompromising in presenting it, but we should not be unkind. If we are in the wrong with respect to some matter of faith or practice, we should be glad to have the error pointed out to us, and quick to rectify it in our hearts and lives. To do otherwise would mean that we were not being governed by the wisdom from above.
James adds further that heavenly wisdom is “full of mercy and good fruits.” Yes, brethren, we should be merciful toward those who are out of the way, remembering how much we need God’s mercy to be exercised toward us. If we exercise heavenly wisdom along the lines of mercy in our dealings with others there is sure ultimately to be an abundant fruitage in their lives, and a ‘wholesome, blessed reaction in our own.
WITHOUT PARTIALITY AND HYPOCRISY
If we are endowed with the true wisdom from above which is first pure, we will certainly be without partiality and without hypocrisy. A Christian should not be partial in his dealings and fellowship with the brethren. This, at times, is a hard test. It means that we will not have a different course of action when dealing with our special friends in the church than when others of the brethren may be involved. If we have made rules for ourselves as individuals or as Ecclesias we should adhere to those rules no matter who may be involved.
The church in these last days has passed through many severe trials, one of which has been that many of the brethren have found themselves in bondage to man-made rules and organizations. In seeking our freedom, however, let us not go to the other extreme and ignore the divinely-given laws governing the new creation. If we associate with an ecclesia of brethren we should conform to the arrangements of that ecclesia, no matter how adversely it may affect us according to the flesh. If we are unruly, or “free lances,” then our conversation is tolerably sure to be more or less corrupted by our false conception of Christian liberty, and will tend to promote in harmony among the brethren.
“Without hypocrisy,” James concludes. Hypocrisy is a very definite form of impurity, and must certainly corrupt the conversation of any Christian who is afflicted with it. No matter how many Christian virtues we may otherwise possess, or be able to cultivate, if we have hypocritical hearts our words will not be truly edifying to others, no matter how apparently sweet they may be. Brethren, let us be on guard against the sin of hypocrisy.
Thus does James analyze the wisdom from above which must overflow in our hearts if our tongues are not to be guilty of uttering slanderous and bitter words against the brethren, and otherwise speaking in ways which, instead of edifying the brethren, will injure them. To the extent that God’s thoughts—the wisdom from above—are uppermost in our hearts and minds we will speak the truth in love and thereby grow up into Christ in all things, and help others also to thus grow in grace and knowledge. The power of our words will thus be to the praise and glory of God and for the blessing of the brethren.—Eph. 4:15
Let us keep in mind, even as James has so clearly shown, that the only sure way to control our tongues is by keeping our hearts pure and filled with the wisdom of God. If we allow our hearts to be filled with worldliness and bitterness, our words will be of the same nature, and our influence will be against the best interests of God’s people. Let us then pray for the wisdom from above, and humbly submit ourselves to God’s ways of answering our prayers. Thus will our conversation be “good,” and suitable for “edifying” the brethren, even as our text declares.