Christian Living

WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

by paul hoffmaster
11/05/17
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It is incredible what an unattended camp fire can do to a surrounding forest.  It is staggering to witness the destruction of acres of land by a carelessly tossed cigarette.  It is sickening to hear how an arsonist destroys buildings.  It is mind boggling to see guns leveled at individuals who do not fit the shooter’s ideology.  Mentally unstable people hold innocent people accountable for their own misguided thoughts and patterns through the use of weapons.  Television and video games stoke the fire of violence.  As bad as all these things are, nothing can compare with the consequences of an unleashed tongue!

 It is “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a raging fire, able to reach anyone with a single word; it’s … Super Tongue!”  More people are destroyed or wounded by an uncontrolled tongue than all the weapons of destruction put together.  What is even more startling is that this weapon is used in the Church.  I have seen churches destroyed by loose tongues.  I have witnessed wounded saints slip away from their assembled places of worship due to the release of these weapons of mass destruction.  One would think that there would be “sanctuary churches” where Christians would be safe from the toxic rhetoric of the world, but sadly, audio censoring is not offered.  Tragically, much of the language inside the Church is just as deadly as a bullet.  How can we bless the Lord with one breath and then proceed to hurt our fellow Believers with the next?   Matthew states that “…out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (12:34)  Also, “…the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.” (15:18)  I believe the tongue is the audio of the heart.  Our words locate our spiritual walk.  If we release criticism, judgment, discord, gossip, and other related destructive verbal arrows, something is wrong with our inner man.  (I wonder if Philippians 2:12b is something we should seriously look at?)  James states in his epistle, “Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing.  My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” (3:10)  

 James also tells us that the tongue cannot be tamed (3:8).  So what do we do?  Are we at the mercy of an uncontrollable tongue?  David the Psalmist understood that the answer to a wild tongue was to submit it unto the Lord.  He wanted the words of his mouth to be acceptable before God, for it was God who was his strength and redeemer. (Psalm 19:14) So David determined that what he would speak would be to the glory of God.  In James 1:19, the speaker is urged to be quick to hear and slow to speak.  In other words, let God check out our potential words before we utter them, and that is brought about by listening to Him before we pull the trigger.  The tongue cannot be tamed, but it can be controlled with God’s help.  It is never too late, with God’s help, to turn our tongue into a vessel of blessing.  Always remember that when we slice our brothers and sisters with our words, we are in reality assaulting our Lord.  On the road to Damascus, Paul encountered Jesus who stunned him with the question, “why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4, 5)  Paul was after His followers, but in reality he was attacking Jesus.  Let us remember that when we use our tongues to hurt others, we are really hurting Jesus.