Taming the Tongue

I am reflecting on the past few days and in part from the book of James in the New Testament.  Most of the third chapter of James' letter deals with the sheer power of words; how often has that little statement starting with "sticks and stones..." been proven false in your life experience, hmm?  Vitriol and manna alike come from between our lips, and yet I myself have often forgotten this little fact at work and at home.

So I myself have begun working on harnessing my mouth to give life and stop committing verbal homicide.  The first thing to go has been profanity, in large part because I am sure that Jesus would make a very wry face at choice words and phrases I have put together in the work place.  Am I trying some self-help tricks here?  Not at all.  I have found myself searching for the mastery of myself that can only come from God in the thick of the moment's heated tension; somehow, that has made all the difference.

Secondly and perhaps far more important, I am looking now to speak in a way that encourages.  Now, don't get me wrong: this seems like such a trite task to accomplish.  At my current workplace and with my current co-workers, said task is not very easy at all.  The prevalent sentiments are quite negative despite the record-setting accomplishments of all three shifts these past two months, and when a person is immersed in such an environment...well, I confess that I get sucked in quite regularly.  As my co-worker Tony puts it, "we should be singing and dancing because we're working here with our pay-rates, benefits, and insurance coverage, because there's 15 million people outside those doors without a job."  I agree completely.  And yet the fussing and complaining continue...

This is not a rant about my job, but rather a quick background introduction to my nightly reality so that anyone reading this may understand my goals regarding my personal speech.  "Out of the same mouth come blessings and curses.  My brothers, this should not be!", says James.  I believe he has a point.  Speaking to early Christians, James points out that there is a drastic and harmful dichotomy regarding speech among Christians.  Paul addresses the need of Christians to be different from the Greco-Roman Mediterranean culture surrounding the early church in many of his letters.  Until recently, I nodded my head and then let the teachings go over my head.  Now I intend to address speech with devotion, because although I cannot attain perfection through this, I do want to be a better example of what a Christian looks and sounds like.  After all, disciples come to Jesus after seeing and hearing an example of Himself per the Great Commission.