The Weapon of the Tongue

Everyone has a powerful weapon – the tongue. When the Bible refers to the tongue, it’s talking about our words.

The “power of life and death is in the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). Words can kill and words can make alive.

Words carry spiritual power. God created the world by speaking. The entire universe was created by God’s words.

Jesus said that we can accomplish amazing things just by speaking.

“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” Mark 11:23

“So the Lord said, ‘If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.'” (Luke 17:6)

It is possible to pluck up trees and throw down mountains with the power of our tongue.

Only God has the power to do these things. The miraculous power of our words operates when we hear from God and speak his words. When we speak what God wants us to say, then our words carry the power of God. Amazing miracles happen when people hear from God and speak his words. God is raising up people who will walk in this power.

The tongue can be used for positive things or negative things. Some people speak like the piercings of a sword (Proverbs 12:18). Their words are hurtful and piercing, designed to wound and hurt others. 

Wise people speak words of health (Proverbs 12:18). Their words heal others – their souls, minds, and bodies.

In the Bible, James, the brother of Jesus, gives us several symbols of the tongue in order to teach us about the power of our words.

Fire

James said the tongue is like a fire (James 3:6).

It just takes a small spark to burn down an entire forest. Trees that took centuries to grow can be destroyed by fire overnight. Houses that take a long time to build, heirlooms passed down through families over generations, and cherished valuables can all be burned down in a moment.

Our words can be like a fire. They can burn things down. Important things can be destroyed in a moment by the tongue. Slander destroys friendships and ruins reputations. Words can cause misery, depression, and suicide.

Sometimes fire in one person’s tongue can ignite another person’s tongue. One person lets his tongue loose, and then another person becomes angry and lets his tongue loose. Then the fiery words rage and destroy.

“It’s an honor for a man to cease from strife, since any fool can start a quarrel” (Proverbs 20:3).

God has not called us to fight with our tongues and burn others with our words. He doesn’t want us to use our tongues for evil and for tearing down.

World of Iniquity

James said the tongue is a world of iniquity. Our words can be a vast arena in which there is much sin. We need to learn to control our tongues so that this iniquity is not released into the world.

“In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise” (Proverbs 10:19).

Unruly Evil

James said the tongue is an unruly evil. Unruly means uncontrollable. The tongue like an untamed wild animal that is raging and trying to devour, releasing evil into the world.

Full of Deadly Poison

The tongue is full of deadly poison. Poison puts people in the hospital and can kill them. Poisonous animals like snakes and scorpions are deadly animals. When our words are out of control, then this poison is released.

As Christians, we need to control our tongues so they are used for good and not for evil.
Jesus wants us speak to others the way we would have them speak to us. This is the golden rule. We should not speak to others in the way they speak to us, repaying them evil words for their evil words. Instead, we should speak to them the way we want them to speak to us, repaying their evil with good. This is how we overcome evil.

How to Control the Tongue

No one is able to control his or her tongue by their own strength (James 3:8).

But the Bible also says we need to control our tongue. If we don’t control our words, our religion is worthless (James 1:26).

God will help us do this. He will help us control our tongues.

The key to controlling the tongue is managing our hearts. The words we speak reflect what is inside our hearts. Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45).

When our hearts are filled with good things, then good things will come out of our mouths. When our hearts are filled with evil things, then evil things will come out of our mouths.

In order to control our tongues, we must have spiritually healthy hearts.

To do this, we first need to be born again. When we believe the gospel and are born again, we get a new heart. God takes out our stony heart and gives us a heart of flesh. Until we are born again, it is impossible to control our tongues.

After being born again, we must maintain the health of our new hearts. Our hearts can still fill with anger, bitterness, resentment, sin, lust, or other evils.

To maintain a healthy heart, we need to forgive others. Don’t take revenge or carry a grudge against them. Don’t allow rage to build up. When we forgive, we cleanse our hearts.

Believe truth. The word of God is the truth, and it discerns the thoughts and intents of theheart (Hebrews 4:12). We need to speak truth to ourselves, combatting the lies and doubts of Satan that pollute our hearts. We need to speak truth to others. The word of God is clear water that can wash our hearts and clean them from lies.

We need to receive forgiveness from God. When we confess our sins, he will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. When we are forgiven, our hearts will be free from sin. This is wonderful feeling.

When our hearts are clean, they will be filled with the living water of the Holy Spirit. Then God’s grace and Spirit will flow out of our hearts through our tongues, and we will speak good words to others.

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29).

When we speak good things, we can build up others and edify the church. This is God’s goal for us.

In order to fulfill our purpose on the earth, we must learn to control our tongues. We can only control our tongues when our hearts are clean and pure, and this is only possible with the help of God.

We may have failed in the past. We may have misused our tongues and burned things down. There may have been evil in our hearts that came out through our tongues. God is a healer. He can restore what was broken. As we turn to him, confessing our sins, he will forgive us and heal our hearts. Then we can use our tongues for good, revealing God to the world.