Taming Our Tongue Is Difficult
PART 1 OF 2 — Is it a sin to talk too much? After reading verses from Proverbs that address the issue, it might seem easier to just stop talking all together! That would be too easy. Taming our tongue is difficult. The right response is the discipline of self-discipline. It is the application of wisdom in the restraint of the most powerful part of our body. The tongue.
What are the dangers of talking to much? Here are a few areas I feel might help answer that question?
It Can Open The Door To Sin
“In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise” (Proverbs 10:19)
“Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles” (Proverbs 21:23).
“He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction” (Proverbs 13:3).
“But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” (James 3:8)
“He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive” (Proverbs 17:27, 28).
Excessive Talking Can Fuel Gossip
“He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends” (Proverbs 17:9)
“Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no talebearer, strife ceases” (Proverbs 26:20)
“He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, therefore do not associate with a gossip” (Proverbs 20:19)
“The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body” (Proverbs 18:8)
It Can Be The Enemy Of Listening
“He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him” (Proverbs 18:13)
“Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 29:20).
“Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak” (James 1:19)
Excessive Talking Feeds Boasting
“Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips” (Proverbs 27:2)
“Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man?” (Proverbs 20:6)
“Whoever falsely boasts of giving is like clouds and wind without rain” (Proverbs 25:14).
“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit;” whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil (James 4:13-16)
Self-Control Requires Love And Discipline
Taming our tongue is extremely difficult, yet not impossible. As we practice love and exercise discipline in the restraint of our tongue, the Holy Spirit will produce the fruit of self-control (Galatians 5:23). As we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus, we will become more and more like the perfect (complete, mature) man who does not stumble in word (James 3:2). Let us pray we become more like Jesus.
PORTIONS OF THIS ARTICLE ARE EXCERPTS, USED BY PERMISSION, FROM AN ARTICLE BY PAUL TAUTGES, POSTED SEPTEMBER 1, 2016
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