Too Many Words

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.

(James 3:5-10 ESV)

When one is tired , stressed , struggling with pain and maybe fighting feeling defeated , one should learn  not say anything before thinking it through .  As James reminded me instantly after I said perhaps the stupidest thing I have ever said , which I confess there have been others in the past , but this one was uncalled for and in hindsight  , came out wrong and not in the way I intended . The problem with the tongue is that it reflects the heart.  I'm reminded how Martin Luther  said many great things but at the same time , could say so many things that can make one cringe. 


But suffering from the various illnesses  he suffered and all the stress he was under , I get how he would spout off and say things , that I bet if he could step back , perhaps he would have calmed his tongue and pen. But he didn't and it is out there for all the world to see. That is the thing about words , they linger . Once you say a thing it is not something like a bone that's broke and mends , words rip and tear at the soul . Words carry poison to the heart and can leave a damage that unless the gospel is applied , can render deep emotional wounds that heal very slowly. 


We all have a tendency to say things as well to the ones we love the most . It is our spouse or kids that will usually take the brunt of our words. Why ? I believe our sinful nature , warring with our new nature , fed by the world and Satan fanning those fires , causes our testimony of Christ to be weakened and even null and void of any power. By causing tension and conflict within a household and rendering the home in discord , it guts the gospel witness. 


So in a real and public way , I want to ask for forgiveness from my Wife , who is the most blessed thing God has placed in  my life , whom I would die for in a heart beat , for the words I said in a cloud of fatigue,stress and despair. I let my old nature rule me , the world sift  and the devil to laugh in victory with my uncalled for words that hurt you. Instead of fleeing to Christ and letting Him take my weariness , it came outwards toward you and for that I'm repented  and tearfully sorry . 


May this be a lesson to me and anyone else , when tempted by the flesh to use the tongue to hurt , may the Holy Spirit take the word and yield it as a mighty sword to defeat the sin within and instead and use James 3 to shut your mouth and re open it for God's glory with words of grace, love and encouragement .