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The Beast In Every Man's Mouth
"The tongue is but three inches
long, yet it can kill a man six feet high."
"No physician can heal the wounds
inflicted by the tongue." - Anonymous
James 3:7-8 tells us - "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: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison."
Suppose in today's Daily Newspaper the headlines read - "Ferocious
Beast on the Loose - All Mankind in Danger." This kind of
news would cause a stir among the people for sure. Such
questions would arise - What kind of beast is it? When does it
attack? How can we protect our families and keep them out of
harm's way? What is being done to restrain it?
This scenario is not imaginary. In all actuality, there is a
fierce beast that is on the loose. Every human being is
affected by it daily. The savage beast is our
tongue, and as the Apostle James said - "...it
is an unruly evil that no man can tame."(James 3:8)
Have we ever considered our tongues to be likened to a
brutal beast that devours and destroys? The Apostle James
- by using such highly declaratory language - desires to get
this very point across to us.
James 3:7 says - "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."
Think about what he is saying here! Every species of wild beasts
has been restrained or brought under man's power and dominion.
Nearly all beasts which we classify today as "domestic"
were once fierce and savage like the horse, ox, donkey, swine,
dog, and cat. There are some sea creatures that have not been
broken per se, but have been made subject to the power of man.
James 3:8 - Yet "...the tongue can no
man tame..."
Read the fitting remarks of the editor of the Pictorial
Bible - "There is perhaps no
kind of creature, to which man has access, which might not be
tamed by him with proper perseverance. The ancients seem to have
more exertions to this end, and with much better success, than
ourselves. The examples given by Pliny, of creatures tamed by
men, relate to elephants, lions, and tigers, among beasts; to
the eagle, among birds; to asps, and other serpents, and to
crocodiles, and various fishes, among the inhabitants of the
water...The lion was very commonly tamed by the ancient
Egyptians, and trained to assist both in hunting and in war."
Barnes' Notes also adds - "The
only animal which it has been supposed has defied the power of
man to tame it, is the hyena, and even this, it is said, has
been subdued, in modern times."
In Genesis 1:26, God gave man dominion over the creatures of the
earth - "And God said, Let us make man
in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over
the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creepeth upon the earth."
Nonetheless, James 3:8 says - "But the
tongue can no man tame..."
Because of this wonderful promise in Genesis 1:26 to all of
mankind, man has displayed such remarkable power in taming wild
beasts. He undeniably has Great God-given power over all kinds
of wild animals. James 3:8 - "But the
tongue can no man tame..."
If by reading this message we have
come to see the ferociousness and fierceness of our own tongues
and our total inability outside of God to curb or
restrain them, then we have understood the lesson well.
So many in today's society see no need for God. In fact,
they see themselves as a god. Yet they have within their
mouths a beast capable of the worst harm to others. No
matter how many New Year's resolutions they make or how they
determine - with even tears - to curb this beast,
it is all to no avail. Only God can tame this beast.
Therefore, every man, woman, boy, and girl in this world
should recognize their need for God.
So many religious folk look disparagingly upon the
prostitute, drunkard, dope addict, etc., yet they never consider
the beast
that lies within their own mouth which causes them to
commit the worst sins against God and their fellow man.
Ecclesiastes 5:6 exhorts us - "Suffer
not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin.."
We all need God on a daily basis. He is the only One
Who can tame our tongues.
Perhaps it would behoove us to begin our day with the prayer
that David prayed in Psalm 141:3 - "Set
a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips."
Until the day we die, we will always carry about
in our mouths the cruelest beast capable of hurting,
harming, devouring, and destroying ourselves and others.
Therefore, we need to live each and every day on this earth,
knowing that we need God. He is the only One
Who can tame that awful beast called -
"the tongue."
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May God Bless His Word.
Connie
| © COPYRIGHT Connie Giordano - All Rights Reserved
