a strange contradiction…

here is another thought.  my tongue displays who i am.  it reveals my real character.  it tells what’s really inside of me. 

first james points out how inconsistent we are in our speech.  james 3.9 (niv), with the tongue we praise our LORD and FATHER, and with it we curse men who have been made in GOD’s likeness.  out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.  my brothers, this should not be.

we say these things out of the same mouth.  we come to church on sunday.  the highest use of your mouth is to use it to praise GOD.  we sing praises to the LORD, then we walk out, get in our car and on the way home we argue about where we are going for lunch. 

isn’t it amazing how quickly your attitude changes?  in one minute you’re saying, “praise the LORD,” the next you’re saying, “shut up!”  the tongue is a strange contradiction.  it’s so inconsistent. 

it’s so amazing how quickly it can change, like dr. jeckll and mr. hyde.  one minute we’re praising GOD and the next cursing other people.

now cursing here doesn’t necessarily mean profanity.  it means any kind of put down, label.  (“you’re good for nothing…you’ll never amount to anything…you’re just like…”)  any kind of put down is a curse.  he says, “why curse men?  they’re made in GOD’s image.”

now this bothers me immensely.  i think how it is possible that we can be loving to people we love – our kids, wives, husbands – and the next moment be harsh, cold, mean to them?  how is it possible? 

how is it possible in one minute to be talking to my kids in gentle, loving tones and the next minute i’m being mean to them?  i hurt them.  i am saying things that damage their self-esteem.

do you struggle with an inconsistent tongue?  james says we all have it.  we speak lovingly in one breath and then lash out in the next.  what gives?  what’s the problem?  why do we do that?  why can we genuinely mean something in love and kindness one minute and then genuinely mean something in hate the next minute?

well JESUS said in matthew 12.34 (niv), for out of the heart the mouth speaks.

JESUS explained the freudian slip years before freud even existed.  he said, what’s inside of you is what’s coming out.  my tongue just displays what i am.  it directs where i go.  it can destroy what i have.  but most of all, it simply displays what i am.  it reveals character.

just a thought from the front porch…