Tame that Tongue
Proverbs 15:1-14
It’s not unusual to hear stories about wildfires raging out of control but it’s certainly different when you might be in the path of destruction. First, we could smell it. Then we could see it. There was a fire burning out of control a few miles from our house. The wind was over 40 mph spreading the fire faster than the firefighters could respond. A simple shift in the wind direction and we would’ve needed to evacuate quickly like some others had to do. Fire can be so destructive.
In the New Testament, James uses this imagery to describe the destructive power of the tongue. “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.”(James 3:5-6). Wow, what a powerful description of the damage the tongue can do.
A thousand years before James wrote that, the Proverbs were already warning people of the destructive damage of the tongue. Today, things have only gotten worse. Social media is an accelerant that only makes the fire burn hotter and faster. When it comes to the tongue, little has changed in 3,000 years. The tongue burns out of control.
The tongue is one of the most talked about issues in the book of Proverbs. It can do great good: A gentle answer turns away wrath. It can also do great damage: But a harsh word stirs up anger. This proverb is not talking about someone who enters a peaceful environment and stirs up trouble. That would be a very high level of foolishness. If that’s you then you are a long way away from skillful living. No, this proverb is talking about someone living in an angry culture. The temperature is hot every direction you look. The question is do you have the skills to diffuse it?
When we would fight as kids our excuse was commonly, “Well, he started it!” In other words, not my fault. I’m not sure where that excuse came from, but who started it is irrelevant if you’re going to live a skillful life. The truth is you’re a fool if you respond back in anger. A wildfire will do damage regardless of who started it. A harsh word refers to something inflammatory. Gas on the fire. Instead of diffusing the situation a fool only adds to the damage.
A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but perversion in it crushes the spirit. The tree of life shows up in the beginning of the story in Genesis. You might say it represents the world as God intended it to be. It shows up again in the end of the story. God will eventually redeem the world back to the way it ought to be. Of course, we live in between these two bookend references to the tree of life. There is one other place in the Bible where the tree of life is mentioned and that is in Proverbs 15. A soothing tongue is a tree of life. So, what does that mean?
First, understanding this is the only place that phrase is used outside Genesis and Revelation, we can be confident the phrase is not used casually. The tree of life represents the shalom that defined the garden of Eden. It was paradise. How do we at least give people a glimpse of what that was like? Flowers? Beautiful trees? Sweet smells? No, a soothing tongue is required.
A soothing tongue describes a mouth that is encouraging. That is healing and speaks forth words that give life to others. It’s a bit like having a magic wand that can bring soothing relief to a world suffering the painful burns caused by the fires burning out of control. But that same wand can also do great damage.
The proverb states that a perversion of the tongue crushes the spirit. A perversion of the tongue means a tongue that is twisted or misused—a magic wand used for evil. A fire that warms is also a fire that burns. The tongue can soothe or crush. The Hebrew word translated crush often referred to a piece of pottery that has been shattered into pieces. The language is very vivid. A tongue out of control can shatter another person into pieces.
Think about this past week. Did you do more soothing or shattering with your mouth? Did the people around you experience healing, or did they suffer painful burns because your mouth is out of control?
Please don’ dismiss this too quickly. There must be a reason why the issues with the tongue so dominate a book on skillful living. There is so much potential for good to those who live skillfully. A man has joy in an apt answer, and how delightful is a timely word! Bright eyes gladden the heart, good news puts fat on the bones. The idea of bright eyes refers to one who gets it; one who sees clearly. One who has listened and learned in order to live skillfully. The result? Good news that brings health to the people around us. Fat on the bones in the Proverbs reflects someone who is healthy and satisfied.
The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. It’s up to you. You can choose to scorch the people around you or you can bring much needed soothing relief. You can crush or you can encourage.
Remember, Proverbs is all about life in the Tribe. It’s about how we live life together. You simply can’t be skillful in life with a mouth that is out of control. Proverbs brings it up again and again, so I choose to do the same. What you do with the Proverbs warning is up to you, but I can assure you, there’s no shortage of people wounded and burned by the wildfires around us. What a soothing relief you could bring with a soothing tongue.