The tongue

by DanWolgemuth on January 28, 2011

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! ~ James 3:5 (ESV)

It’s been nearly 2,000 years since James the Just; under the influence of the Holy Spirit, penned these words.

A tongue… with it we praise and curse. With it we bless and destroy.

Left unchecked it is lethal.

It exposes the unseen places of the mind and heart.  It unveils the hidden.  It vandalizes.

It is a thermometer.

Consequently, when technology gives cyber-amplification to unprocessed thoughts, then chaos rules the airwaves.  News reports become littered with what one professional athlete thinks of another; or what one politician said behind the scenes about their opponent.

Twitter and Facebook validate what the Bible proclaimed.  Words matter.  With them “… we bless our Lord and Father, and with them we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.”

Amazing advancements in technology have blown hurricane force winds across the scrap heap of the human tongue.  What used to remain confined is now unleashed.  The banter becomes the news.  The conversation doesn’t fuel the controversy; it is the controversy…  “He said, she said; he tweeted, she retweeted; he posted, she commented”…

The facts remain… even after 2,000 years… especially after 2,000 years… an unbridled tongue, an unguarded voice… exposes a graceless heart.  And now it’s possible to broadcast the venom.  Polluted air is no longer confined to your zip code… it travels the world in a millisecond.

But, what if we… followers of Jesus… exercised discipline in this space as well.  What if we resist the urge to pass judgment with only circumstantial evidence?  What if we only blogged on what we know?  What if we always season our thoughts with Godliness?  What if instead of either avoiding or surrendering we transformed the airwaves?

Self-discipline applies to the internet.  To cell phones.  To Twitter accounts.  To Facebook posts.  Technology reveals the depth of personal transformation.

Before you Tweet, before you post, before you hit “reply,” before you fire back a text message, before you unleash your tongue – or your fingers…

“…the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”  ~ James 3:17-18 (ESV)

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