DAILY DEVOTIONAL – May 27, 2020
“Taming the Beast“
Prayer: Almighty God, You have the words of eternal life. You gave us Your Word, Your Word who took on flesh and dwelt among us, who died for us and rose again so that we would be saved. Lord, help us to love and live in Your Word, so that our words might bring You glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Scripture: James 3:3-10
“If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 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! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”
Devotional – “Taming the Beast”
Ever since moving to Omaha a few years ago, one of my wife and I’s favorite places to go with the kids is the Omaha zoo. A year or so ago we took a trip to the zoo with my mother who was out for a visit. One of the exhibits we always enjoy is the elephant exhibit. I never cease to be amazed buy the awesome size and power of an elephant. Unfortunately, this last time we visited the zoo, the elephants were nowhere to be found. The only thing there was to see was the exhibit itself. As we were looking, my mother said, “Gosh, this reminds me of a scene right out of Jurassic Park.” She was talking about the way the enclosure was built to contain the elephants. I had never really noticed it before, but with no elephants to look at it was easier to take notice of the huge and towering concrete pillars, between which were strung layers of thick steel cabling that served as the barrier between the elephants and the viewing public who were elevated and behind their own barriers. Taking a closer look at what was required to contain these animals gave me an even deeper appreciation for the majesty and raw power of these animals.
Standing there thinking about all of this, the text from our passage in James 3 popped into my head. “For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue.” What a profound point James is making, and that point was made even more impactful as I walked throughout the zoo seeing up close all the beasts and birds we have tamed. For all of their massive strength and power, even if they were left to roam among humans freely, the most ferocious beasts we have somehow managed to tame would never do more damage to humans than we have done to ourselves with our own tongues.
Words have power, not just to communicate truths, but to affect the reality in which we live. This is why many times throughout Scripture God cautions us to take very careful measure of what we say before we say it. In our passage from James 3 for example, in verse 6, James warns us that an unbridled tongue can “set the entire course of our life on fire.” Yet, a thoughtful and prudent tongue can yield a lifetime of blessing. This is what Proverbs 18:20-21 tells us when it says, “From the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is satisfied by the yield of his lips. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
Words have power. The words that we use not only have a very real impact on those around us, but the words we speak also work back upon us when we speak them. Jesus says in Matthew 15:11, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Our thoughts, when kept to ourselves, remain subjective and still able to be influenced, changed, or corrected. However, when those thoughts we have are spoken, they become objective reality and they will have an effect both on the one who hears them and upon the one who spoke them.
Much care must be given to how we use our tongue, because, as I often say in pastoral counseling sessions, what you intend to say with your words and what you mean by what you say matters very little. What ultimately matters is what is heard. As a preacher, this is a constant struggle and reality that I live in. What I think is a good sermon counts only in so far as what is heard by my congregation proves to be edifying and effective in communicating the truths of Scripture. Of course, none of us can completely control how another person hears what we say or chooses to interpret it, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take great care in thinking about our words before we say them.
In today’s society, saying outlandish things for the sake of being outlandish or for the pure shock value is increasingly popular. I’m not sure why it is, but our society has confused the multitude or volume of words spoken with the genuine meaningfulness of words, it has confused an arrogant tongue with confidence, it has confused an obnoxious tongue with genuine humor, and it has confused a disrespectful tongue with true power.
When a wild horse is “broken” and harnessed with a saddle, it has not somehow become less powerful or less of a horse. It has become useful and productive. When looking up close at the elephants, rhinos, and silver back gorillas at the zoo, I don’t think anyone assumes the animals have lost their power because they have been placed in an exhibit and tamed. If there was any doubt about that, I am sure it would quickly dissipate if the protective barriers that stood in between you and the silverback or the pride of lions all of a sudden just vanished. In the same way, when we choose to bridle our mouths, tame our tongue and direct the power of our words to be constructive rather than destructive, that does not display weakness, but exacting strength.
As Jesus said, it is what comes out of our mouth that defiles us, and this is why it is so important to live our lives in the Word of God, to let His Words be our words. Only God’s Word has the power to truly bless us and those around us; that same Word of God that spoke all things into existence and sustains all things, and that same Word of God that took on flesh in Jesus Christ that He would die for our sins, rise for our justification and create in us a clean heart that would produce words of hope and refreshment.
As Ephesians 4:29-32 says, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Thanks for joining me for another daily devotional in God’s Word, and remember, that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
