Controlled Speech Can Be Directed

AN EXPLANATION

We’ve all said things we wish we could take back. We’ve all caused ourselves or others trouble by things we’ve said. And we’ve all said things that we can’t believe came out of our mouth!

The words we say are formed by our tongue and lips, but those words originate in our hearts. Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

And according to James, our words are as important as our works. Like a bridle in a horse’s mouth or a rudder on a ship, we can control what we say and use our speech in a way that blesses others. An unbridled tongue, like an unbridled horse, will never accomplish anything worthwhile. But a bridled tongue—like a bridled horse under a master’s control—can be very useful. We can actually take control of what we say and use words for our good and the good of others.

AN ILLUSTRATION

James 3:3 is a helpful illustration of the mastery we can have over our tongue: “Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.” If you have ever bridled a horse, you know that the bridle that slips over the horse’s head and behind its ears has a bit, a metal bar that goes in the horse’s mouth and lies on top of its tongue. When the rider wants the horse to stop, he pulls back hard on the reins, and the bit presses down on the horse’s tongue. The rider who controls the horse’s tongue can actually control the horse’s whole body—steer it to the right or left, and bring it to a stop with a simple pull on the reins.

A horse controlled by a bit can be of great use, but an unbroken horse can do great damage. Just as a horse needs to come under its master’s control, our tongues need to come under our Master’s control. A horse can’t bridle itself. The one who mastered it puts the bridle on.

My point is that, try as we might, we can’t control our tongue through our own efforts. After all, what we say actually originates in our heart, not our mouth. When we yield ourselves under the control of our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, our speech can honor Him and bless others.

Ships illustrate the same point that horses do: “Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.” The tongue is like that small rudder: a muscle just a few inches long can build or break someone who is six feet tall.

But back to those rudders. One can’t live in Florida, as our family did for fifteen years, without doing some sailing. As James reminded us, it’s the wind that propels us along, not the rudder. Winds are necessary. You can’t get very far in a sailboat without them. The stronger the winds, the faster the boat moves. However, a sailboat without a rudder is entirely at the mercy of those winds. The boat may go fast, but with nothing to give it direction, it can’t easily reach its intended destination.

James’s point is clear. A bridle on a horse is of little use unless a rider is in control of the reins. A rudder on a ship is useless unless a captain is at the wheel or stern controlling it.

AN APPLICATION

James went on: “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.” Interestingly, the Greek word we translate “little member” can also mean “melody; the music to which a song is set.” God intends our tongues to give life a melody. If the tongue is out of tune, life has no melody. And if we say one thing and do another, the music stops. Our words and our works are meant to blend together in perfect harmony.

Remember, the real issue is not the actual bit in the mouth or the rudder on the ship, but the one who is in control. And I learned something interesting about who is in control of a massive oil tanker when I watched them come in to dock at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. When the tankers are still a ways out of port, a small boat goes out to meet them. On that boat is a man referred to as the “bar pilot.” He boards the massive vessel, and the captain who has piloted that huge ship across the ocean steps aside and surrenders the wheel to the bar pilot. That bar pilot knows where the deep channel is cut and where the ship is to be docked. Jesus is our bar pilot, yet too many of us are trying to steer our own ships into the harbor. We need to step aside and surrender to Him the wheel that guides our lives. When we do, our speech will come under His control, and He will direct it in such a way that blesses others and honors Him.