Shut Your Mouth! Keep that wild tongue in the cage of your mouth!
by David J. Stewart
"But the tongue can no
man tame; it is an unruly evil,
full of deadly poison." —James 3:8
"The
words of a talebearer are as wounds,
and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly."
—Proverb 18:8
"The
words of a talebearer are as wounds,
and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly." —Proverb 26:22
The above duplicate Scriptures are not a typo, God is repeating this truth for a
good reason. Our gossiping words HURT and INJURE other people. The Apostle
James said that our tongue is set on fire of Hell, an unruly evil that cannot be
tamed. James 3:7, “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: But the
tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” The
human tongue cannot be tamed. It is a wild thing.
We shouldn't be looking for garbage.
If we do hear it, we shouldn't believe it. You can't judge a person by what
others say about him, but you can judge a person by what he says about others.
Unless you have two witnesses, don't believe it. The Bible teaches this in
Deuteronomy 19:15. The Bible doesn't say two hearers, but witnesses. Did you see
it? I like the saying that goes... don't believe anything you hear and only half
of what you see. Is it true about so-and-so? It shouldn't matter unless you
actually saw it yourself. If you didn't, shut your mouth!
Men cage a wild lion so it will not
hurt or kill anyone. A lion cannot be allowed to roam free in a populated area
because of it's inherent wild nature. Likewise, the tongue is a wild thing and
needs to be caged by keeping one's mouth closed. Every time we open our mouth,
we ought to be extremely cautious, as if opening the cage of a ferocious lion at
the zoo.
People sure do love
to talk about other people! It's been said, “Great minds talk about ideas, good minds talk about things, and weak
minds talk about people.” Unfortunately, most people are
weak-minded. This is the old carnal human sin nature. It tends to
make us feel vindicated when we say something derogatory about a person whom we
don't like in the first place. It is human nature to want to get back at
people for hurting us; however, this is not what God wants us to do.
Some
people are experts at running their mouths, they have learned to wait for just
the right moment to deeply hurt another person's feelings. It is a sin to assassinate
a person's character behind their back. Most harmful slander is done under the
pretense of good intentions. God knows each person's heart. God knows if you
sincerely chose to warn someone to be careful around a certain individual, or if
you just hate that person and want to cause trouble for them and instigate
hatred against them. The latter is most often the case.
A lot of people are Monday morning
quarterbacks, criticizing the Sunday game after it's over. Anybody can look at
the guy on top and say how he should have done things differently. Anyone can
criticize the way a game should have been coached better. Anybody can criticize
anyone for anything. We live in a critical society in America. I would rather
build than tear down. I would rather teach the beginner than criticize the
finisher. Anybody can tell the head-coach of some national team how he could
have done better. So many people are critics. I'd rather spend my time rejoicing
that Christ was preached, and the needy were helped, instead of criticizing
those who might be doing it a little bit wrong. Put away your magnifying glass
and look at the work being done for Christ, instead of always looking for
anything and everything to complain about.
The Bible gives us much
advice concerning the evils of the mouth. Jesus said that what comes out of
a man's mouth defiles him, not what goes in. Matthew 15:11, “Not that which
goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth,
this defileth a man.”
Proverb 26:22, “The
words of a talebearer are as
wounds,
and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” The verse we just read says a lot. “Talebearer”
in the Hebrew means “to whisper,” “slander,” or “backbite.” It basically
means that we hurt or kill someone with our words by spreading the tale
(information).
As Proverbs 18:8 says, the wounds that
a talebearer inflicts on the victim go way down to the “belly” (i.e., hurting
deep inside). The wounds which gossip inflicts last a lifetime. People
who have hatred in their heart for another will sinfully use their mouth to do what they legally
couldn't do ... kill the person! The damage caused by gossip has caused
many people to commit suicide. This is a serious matter with God. God hates gossip!
DEFAMING JESUS!
There is a Time When We Ought
to Speak Up
Please do not confuse preaching
against sin with malicious intent. Gossiping is a sin because it is rooted in
self-righteous hypocrisy. We're all sinners and ought not to focus on the sins
of others. When we point the finger, there's 3 fingers pointing back at us.
However, God commands the Christian believer to refute all works of darkness
(Ephesians 5:11). God wants us to stand up against the evildoers (Psalm 94:16).
God wants us to mark them which cause division in the church and avoid them
(Romans 16:17). This is Biblical.
Unfortunately, I see a lot of people
trying to assassinate other people's character out of personal spite and anger,
rather than to please the Lord by contending for the faith or standing against
public sin.
The best way to keep
your foot out of your mouth is to keep it shut!
We ought never condemn people for
their personal sins, nor throw their sins in their face for the rest of their
life here on earth. We ought to forgive those who seek forgiveness. Although we
can't forget the harm they did, we can certainly forgive them in Jesus' name and
place them into God's hands for judgment (2nd Corinthians 5:10-11). Romans 12:19
tells us not to avenge ourselves. Continually slandering and tearing a person
down publicly is a form of hateful revenge. If we have nothing good to say, it's
best to keep quite.
God has given to each believer the
responsibility to expose evil, to take a firm stand against wrongdoing and to
earnestly contend for the Christian faith. In so doing, we will step on many
toes. Some people will accuse us of being hypocrites and hateful. They are
twisting the Scriptures around. Granted, it may seem confusing at times when to
speak up and when to be quite, but it's not difficult if you live by Biblical
principles. For example: anyone who tampers will the gospel ought to be exposed
as a false teacher. I expose many false prophets by name, because they corrupt
the simplicity that is in Christ. Although some people have accused me of
slandering those men, it is untrue. I am contending for the Christian faith. I
do not enjoy publicly exposing false teachers, but they are publicly teaching
demonic doctrines.
Likewise, I don't condemn homosexuals,
God forbid. God's holy Law condemns all humanity as being guilty sinners (Romans
3:19). What I do expose is the homosexual agenda, which seeks to enslave our
public school children. I expose those who publicly parade their wickedness
shamelessly for all to see. Someone needs to stand up and say, “This is
wickedness!” It all boils down to caring. Christians who love the Lord Jesus
will care, and will speak out against sin and evil that threaten our children,
our society and our freedoms. Sin always undermines any nation. America has gone
to hell.
I expose a lot of people for the
imposters and heathens they are, but only because they are uplifted in the eyes
of the Godless public and someone needs to expose them for what they are.
However, I don't condemn anyone for their sins. That is not my place. God is the
only Judge.
James 4:11-12, “Speak not evil
one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth
his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou
judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one
lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest
another?”
Wisdom is knowing when to speak up and
when to keep quiet. By studying the Scriptures, it is clear that God doesn't
want us to go around spreading someone's dirty laundry. If we love our neighbor
as our self, then we won't do that sort of thing. At the same time, we have an
obligation as Christians to publicly rise up in protest against those who teach
that abortion is acceptable and right. It is not. Abortion is murder according
to Exodus 20:13, and we ought keep ringing that bell of liberty for the children
who are captives to the bloodthirsty abortion industry.
If you've had an abortion, I do not
condemn you; the Bible does. The Law of God condemns all of us as helpless and
guilty sinners. Thankfully, Jesus came into the world to
save sinners like you and me.
Amen! My website is hear to glorify God, not attack people. I cry aloud as a
preacher of righteousness against the wickedness of our apostate world, just as
Noah preached for 120 years prior to the devastating flood which
swept them away. My intent is not
to criticize anyone in a destructive manner; but rather, to turn many people to
righteousness by faith in Christ Jesus, the Son of God.
"Thou shalt not go up and down as
a talebearer among thy people..." —Leviticus 19:16
"Whoso privily
[secretly] slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer."
—Psalm 101:5
"These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." —Proverbs 6:16-19
If
your Bible is falling apart, you won't!
“There is also the danger in our special prayer groups for us to pray for
others to improve, which is simply a way for us to criticize someone to a
friend and place it in the disguise of spirituality and prayer. If one is
going to pray for the improvement of another and mention his faults, it is
best for him to go into the closet and pray alone.” ~Dr. Jack Hyles, a quote from
the book, 'EXPLORING PRAYER WITH JACK HYLES,'
chapter 46.
A
man cannot be judged by what others say about him, but he can be judged by what
he says about others.
"Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
Not rendering evil for
evil, or
railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
For he that will love life, and see good days,
let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no
guile"
—1st
Peter 3:8-10
The most harmful gossip is true gossip. It
is sinful to spread dirty laundry about other people. Why don't you tell
everywhere how rotten you are instead? If we have the love of
God in our heart, we will not go around digging up old dirt and forcing people
to constantly relive their past sins and mistakes.
"Hatred
stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins."
—Proverb 10:12
We are to love our
neighbor. Nearly everyone knows something about someone that would hurt or destroy their reputation if we told
others. We need to be very careful what we say. We have the
power to hurt people for a lifetime with just a few words. God will hold us accountable for EVERY word spoken.
"But I
say unto you, That every idle word
that men shall speak, they
shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."
—Matthew 12:36
"The
words of a talebearer are as wounds,
and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly."
—Proverb 18:8
"The
words of a talebearer are as wounds,
and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly." —Proverb 26:22
“A lie can travel halfway
across the country before truth has a chance to put its boots
on.”
“It takes your enemy and
your friend, working together, to hurt you to the heart; the one
to slander you and the other to get the news to you.”
