The last few weeks, we’ve been talking about how there are small things in our lives, whether they are a word, thoughts and now tongue that result in big things that everyone wants. IT’S OFTEN THE SMALL THINGS THAT NO ONE SEES THAT RESULT IN THE BIG THINGS THAT EVERYONE WANTS. I want to start the sermon today with a true story about how, even though I’m a pastor, God is always teaching me first, what I’m preaching to you all on Sundays. Last week, we discussed how our strongest thoughts, no matter how small, will always move our lives in the direction of that life. Well, the first place where that statement manifests itself is in the arena of words,or our tongues. You ever hear of the rhyme, “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me?” Yeah, they made that rhyme for people like me whose words often hurt more than being stoned and beaten with sticks.
Well, this week, I was reminded of how I mess up the small things in my life with the words that come out of my mouth. I was having a casual conversation on my way home from work. And I had a pretty long day, I was just leaving the office after 13 hours and my brain was pretty tired and fried. Just so tired. This conversation I was having, well, it turned south really quickly because me and my not so smart self just started saying things very apathetically and very callously. My excuse to myself was that I was tired. But the truth is, I failed in some important small things with that person I was having a conversation with. I said some pretty mean things, not because I wanted to be mean, but because I wasn’t thinking or considerate of who I was talking to. You see, I had spent all day thinking negative thoughts, having negative conversations and talking about negative consequences. Then, those thoughts and conversations started to bleed out into the relationships I have with other people. And oh my, did that conversation bleed.
I took and twisted a thought and words around so much that I made a situation and circumstance that was stellar from the point of view of the other person into something so mediocre and pathetic. But it was none of those things. I’m sure that we did this recently too. I’m not the only person who does silly things like this. We may not make people so sad and mad at us for saying such things because they suck it up on the insider, but you’ve done this to your parents and maybe siblings. You say things and bam, the conversation was good, now its not so good. We don’t even notice how quickly this happens. It’s like our mouths are out of control, with the way we think. We say things like, I hate you, you’re stupid, you’re nothing to me, etc. And people around us, experiencing that from us, take it to heart. The small thing that makes a big difference that we need to talk about today is our tongues. Every body take your hand and grab your tongue. Yeah, look how small this thing is in our big mouths, its so small, but it can cause such a ruckus.
Let’s go to James 3. 3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. (James 3:3-5) Do you see how James points out how small things change the direction of the big thing that it is contained within? I want to look at some other verses in the Bible about our tongues.
- The tongue has the power of life and death (Prov 18:21) – You have the power of life and death in your tongue. When my brother was 3 or 4, he suddenly collapsed and the drs told our family that he was dying and they didn’t know why. My dad said that God told him to go pray and speak life into my brother because God would give him life. And my brother is alive. Jesus tells a fig tree to go die and the fig tree dies. Jesus says he will resurrect the temple in three days and the temple of God was resurrected in three days, that’s why we come to church.
- The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Prov 12:18
- The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. Prov 15:4
How many of us knew these things about our tongue? You have the power of life and death in your tongue. How many of us have set a fire with the words we used? How many of us pierced people with our tongue? Some of us have swords in our mouths when we speak, it cuts us. Some of us, when we speak, it heals and makes others feel better. What we say may not seem so big and important now, but it makes a big difference in your life. You know who you are. Has your mom ever said I’m going to wash out your mouth with soap? Have any of you experienced a soap washing? Man, the worst soap to get your mouth washed with is a soap called Ivory,do they still make that? I’m not sure, but it tastes horrible. You never say anything bad after tasting that nasty soap. It takes your life away when you have your mouth washed with that. You’ll always have a tongue like a tree of life from that moment on. With that being said, I want us to share, is our tongue life taking or life giving? Life Taking 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Life Giving Life Taking:
- Did you mean to do that to your hair?
- Why aren’t you married yet?
- You’re just like your dad
- I never loved you.
- You’re pathetic, you won’t amount to anything. You’re so disappointing.
Life Giving:
- I believe in you. I’m proud of you. I couldn’t love you more.
- You’re amazing
- I’ll marry you all over again
- You’re so talented.
So, how do you have a life giving tongue? Two points and we’re going to finish. Let’s go to our notes. #1 and this comes from Ephesians 4:29: IF YOU CAN’T SAY SOMETHING HELPFUL, DON’T. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29)
It’s better not to say anything at all. So if I have nothing nice to say, I don’t say anything. That’s why I’m so quiet all the time. Haha. I’m not kidding. Some people just say a lot of bad things, maybe not about people, but to complain. We need to stop doing both, complaining and/or taking other people’s life away. You need to build them up. The food not what you want, you eat it fast and quietly and say you’re full. You don’t lie to them by saying that it was good. You say you were hungry and the food filled you up. #2, this is also our memory verse for this week: Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. (Proverbs 16:24)
IF YOU THINK SOMETHING GOOD,SAY IT! Compliment other people. Be sweet. Encourage them for no reason. You will change their life. Sticks and stones will break your bones, but words stab you in the heart. Let’s make sure the things we say with our tongue are life giving and not life taking. Let’s pray.
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