The Taming of the Tongue

Scripture:  James 3 v 6 - 8: "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 
 7  For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 
 8  But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison."

Matthew 26 v 73 - 75: "And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.
 74  Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
 75  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly."


As Christians we are to be like Jesus was when He was on Earth, a blessing to those whom we can reach with the truth. We are to forsake cursing and swearing for these words are the manifestation of demons.

Our speech should reflect who reigns within. We should never use the name of Jesus as a curse word. The enemies of Jesus fear the power in His name and try to minimise it by making it something evil.

Its not only witches and satanists who invoke curses. Every person with an ugly speech pattern is a channel through which curses land on people's lives. So we must not permit such foul language in our presence or through music or TV. We must teach our children to be a blessing and not learn bad words from their schoolmates.

One Christian man I knew worked alongside a man who continuously used the name of Jesus as a curse. The Christian started to use this man's wife's name as a curse. The man confronted him saying Why are you using my lovely wife's name like that? The Christian replied, Because you use the name of Someone I love like that! The man changed his ways.

If you have used curse words and are being attacked financially or in other ways, you have opened this door with your own mouth. With that same mouth you need to confess your wrongdoing to the Lord Jesus and repent (change your mind) about such behaviour. Jesus will always forgive you but rather close that door forever and put that behind you.

Its easy to fall into bad habits and then to justify yourself and pretend to yourself that God is okay with this. Look what happened to Peter in Matthew 26. After Jesus was arrested all the disciples fled but Peter followed behind. At the temple courtyard several people pointed Peter out as one of the men who had been with Jesus. He kept denying it. Someone said to him - Your speech betrays you! Immediately Peter started swearing and using foul language!!

Is your clean speech a witness to others of your love for Jesus? It can be a powerful way of showing the difference to those on the outside. So decide today to be a blessing to many and have a clean mind and mouth!

One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our lives is self-control or temperance.  He gives us the ability to control our thoughts, speech, temper, honesty, addictions, sexuality, morals and manners.  He is far away from the manifestations of the Toronto Movement which encourages raucous laughter, hissing, barking, screaming, roaring, whistling and really over the top behaviour which is counted for revival.  He is Holy, and cherishes a meek and quiet spirit.  

Revival starts with extreme sorrow for sin and a desire for repentance.  The outpouring of the Holy Spirit will bring conviction of sin, righteousness and judgment.  It is no laughing matter.  Another fruit that grows within is joy.  The joy of the Lord is our strength, also not to be confused with uncontrollable laughter.

Through self-control we tame our tongue and clean up our speech.  We renew our minds according to the Word of God.  We are given the ability to change our habits and bring our temperament into line with God's will for us.  He sets us free of anger, rage, violence, swearing, and other forms of abuse.  Only He can make these changes as we submit and allow Him free reign.

Prayer: Father God it hurts You when our fleshly nature surfaces in the way we speak. Forgive us Father for our sins and errors. Let our words be pure and holy which honours You.  We choose to be different and make a difference for those bound by curses to be set free. In Jesus' name. Amen.