The Tongue: A Powerful Tool For Or Against God

The Bible teaches specific lessons on how Christians should communicate with each other, with the world in general, and with God.

Self-control, a fruit of the Spirit, plays into the way God’s people communicate with each other constantly. Because verbal communication provides the primary means of witnessing to a lost world, all Christian communication should be pure and intentional, not characterized by cursing, wild ranting or meaninglessness. In the Treasury of David, Charles Haddon Spurgeon states, “The tongue is the principle instrument in the cause of God: and it is the chief engine of the devil; give him this, and he asks no more. There is no mischief of misery he will not accomplish by it.”

To control the tongue, Christians must walk in the Spirit and consistently guard their words. Three practical requirements for Christian communication are education, self-control and a strong relationship with the Lord.

In the Apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he states that followers of Christ must study to show themselves approved by God. This clearly indicates God expects Christians to educate themselves in his word and in proper methods of communication. Likewise, in 1 Corinthians 14:9, Paul asks, “Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying?” Learning the subjects of grammar and speech contributes to the effectiveness of the Christian’s communication skills, thereby adding confidence to the speaker.

The Bible commands Christians to pursue knowledge and readiness instead of living lazy lives in unconcerned ignorance. Content supersedes method; therefore, Christians must know what the Bible says and how to interpret its words properly. Since his word “never returns void,” the Christian’s most important responsibility is to communicate its message to a lost and dying world.

Christians have a responsibility to manage every word that leaves their mouths. This includes casual and meaningless speech as well as words meant to damage others. Words used to impress, to demonstrate wit, to wound another’s spirit, to demonstrate fluency in debate, or to inflate the ego of the speaker in any other way can accomplish Satan’s agenda. Any Christian who speaks in this manner promotes himself or herself instead of Christ.

In turn, such foul communication turns lost people away from the faith. James 3:10 states: “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” Instead, Christians must set a guard over their mouths, as Psalm 141:3 clearly states. To control the speech takes more than just human effort. It requires the help of the Holy Spirit.

Obeying the biblical commands regarding control of the tongue requires dependence on God and submission to his lordship. This means the Christian must sacrifice his or her own will—or ego—to make himself or herself available for the Lord’s power to work through his or her speech. A godly, conscientious individual realizes his or her reliance on the Lord and expresses it in the form of prayer.

Acknowledging dependence on God releases his power to the believer and opens the door to communicate in a way that pleases Him. Spurgeon states in The Treasury, “… prayer is the effect of our weakness, and the expression of our dependence.” Out of a solid prayer life emerges a strong relationship with God, which produces a clean heart from which godly communication can be expressed.

Godly communication provides the means by which unbelievers will hear the gospel of Christ and gain salvation. Their souls depend upon the sincere, knowledgeable words spoken by Christians. Likewise, sincerity and proper representation of Christ depend upon strong and consistent relationship between the Christian and God. Resistance to temptation and self-promotion results from obedience and self-control, which in turn find fruition from love for God. Obviously, a chain of relationships must be observed and followed before godly communication can happen.

Summing it up, James 1:26 states, “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” Misrepresenting Christ, and thereby confusing lost souls, presents a dire scenario—eternal death for the lost and loss of reward in heaven for the Christian. Therefore, as their imperative responsibility, Christians must guard their tongues and practice educated awareness of their speech.

Hanna Horne, 15, is a member of First Baptist Church in Chandler, Okla.