Caging The Beast

By John Stallings


Don’t let its size fool you. It’s small but deadly.

Its influence & power far exceed its size. The destructive venom of this little monster has an almost unbelievable potential for destruction.

The beast is restless, arrogant, powerful, poisonous, deceptive & hypocritical. Graveyards are filled with its victims.

The smallness of this monstrous creature will cause you to tend to underestimate the damage it can do.

The snakes that slither through the swamps & jungles of this world, many of them packing enough deadly venom to kill elephants are almost a joke when compared with this little destroyer. It’s a nasty piece of work. Tiny but terrible.

This beast can hurt you & hurt you bad. Its powers can prove fatal. You must know what you’re dealing with, the insidious power packed into this shocking little monster. It’s too wild, too fierce, and too poisonous to ever be fully domesticated.

It only weights a couple of ounces. It hides out of sight, yet no force on the planet carries as much power.

Strong words? Yes- but in no way do they exaggerate. This little terrorist is shockingly hideous, ravenously hungry, a slithery, slimy, poisoned tipped beast. It’s indigenous to every country in the world & has caused untold destruction on a global scale.

Before I tell you the name of this little monster, let me first ask a few questions.

What part of the human body is so important that if we could control just that one part we could be considered to be a perfect person?

What part of the body, when it opens it can reveal our inner landscape?

What part of our body is said to be the “tattletale of the heart?”

What part of our body has the ability, at will, to strengthen others or tear them down at its own discretion?

THE TONGUE

By now I’m sure you know what body part I speak of. I speak of the tongue. We must admit that this movable muscular structure attached to the floor of the mouth has catapulted the world into global conflict, brought down empires, raised up leaders, & instilled courage into deflated minds.

Proverbs 13:3 says,--He who guards his mouth guards his life.

Johnny Cash “ shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.” The uncaged tongue likes to set fires just to watch people burn.

Probably no subject makes us more uncomfortable than the tongue. All of life seems to revolve, in one way or another around the tongue.With it we conduct business, build relationships, & express praise to God. But with it we might also deceive, tear down relationships & ruin the reputation of others. Each day we live, good & evil resides in our tongues therefore we must be sure that we submit our tongues to the lord & make certain we’re functioning by divine grace & that our love-level is high.

THE BOOK OF JAMES

The popular movie that has recently caused a sensation at the box office called Twilight & its sequels conjure up a scary scenario about human vampires & are categorized as horror movies.

But when you read James’ description of the tongue & its destructive potential you feel as if you’re in a horror movie to end all horrors. You feel as if you’re being pursued by a ravenously hungry & deadly monster, & you are. We all are because we all possess one of these potential killers called the tongue.

All the intricate connections that we are involved in, whether they be family, friend, or business related can quickly and easily be burned to the ground with a word. The tongue is the “top dog” among our members. Once let loose, the destructive potential of the spoken word can’t be recaptured. Every word that passes through our lips has the potential to wreck someone’s reputation or destroy a business or break-up a family.Such is the uncontrollable character of the tongue.

The book of James is different to say the least. It is basic entry-level “in your face” Christianity. If we spoke metaphorically, we could say that in James, we’re being exercised but it isn’t in a fancy spa. James is just crunches, push-ups & heavy bag work in a smelly basement gym. James is going to stretch us until we grasp the importance of putting our faith to work. You have to really mean business when you start with the book of James.

Reformer Martin Luther couldn’t understand how the book of James got into the Bible. He didn’t really appreciate the book because he couldn’t find grace in it. To Luther, James was all about works & right-living & wasn’t worth much.

To be frank, the first time I got into the book of James, I mean got into it in a serious way, I said, “God help me, I’m doomed.” Several times as a pastor I’ve tried to preach through James & it got so tedious I was looking for exit ramps. If you’re going to teach this book, you’d be wise to do as I’ve done & ask God for a revelation. James doesn’t flow in story form-James hits you from all sides so before you read it make sure you’re ready to get “fit.”

James has a lot to say about the tongue. We should keep in mind as we read that James is considering the tongue in its natural condition apart from divine power & grace. James’ whole point is to point us to the absolute necessity for God’s grace to work in our lives, especially in our tongues.

Maybe you’ve observed that I write a lot about the power of the tongue. To be very candid, it’s probably because I’ve so often been humiliated by some of the infractions I’ve made with words. I can honestly say that I’ve said lots of good things in my life. We all have. In a very real way, words have been my life. Words I’ve spoken have changed the lives of many for the better. When I’ve based what I’ve said on God’s Word, as in preaching & teaching, the eternal destinies of many souls have been changed by words I’ve spoken. Occasionally I’ve said & written some things that people a lot smarter than me have actually called profound.

But I’m also capable of occasionally saying stupid things that have made me long for a trap door so I could beat a hasty retreat & escape. I’ve wept over some of the things I’ve said. I’m sure I’ve caused others to weep too, & for this I feel terrible, even though it’s all under the blood. I’m getting better all the time but I still have the capacity to say the wrong things.

Attacks of stupidity play no favorites; you can find it in Washington D. C as well as in the ghettos. In this "silly season," as we move into an extremely important election period, we see the use and misuse of the human tongue on full display. I venture to say that the average politician doesn't have a clue to the richness of the book of James and how he could be enriched, even revolutionized by it. If we could print just this little book and send copies to the individuals of all todays political parties and ask them to please read it  through, their  outlooks would be changed and without a doubt we'd see a stunning immediate  difference in the words they say. Indeed the whole political discourse  would change and our nation would be the recipient of untold blessings. Don't you agree?

Who hasn’t hurled hurtful words in retaliation for real or perceived hurts? Who hasn’t wondered out loud if this or that may or may not be true & dropped a spark that ignited a forest fire of rumor? Who hasn’t said--- “now don’t breathe a word of this, but……?” I’m sure we’ve all put a few people in the spiritual burn unit with our words.

If you & I don’t acknowledge the awful power of our tongue & take steps to cage it, we’re sure to do some damage-some real damage. Psychologists say a small child can be caused to start a lifetime of stuttering when they’re abused with words or have been caused to feel they don’t have anything of importance to say.

James doesn’t offer any magic solutions. He isn’t under any illusions that we in our own power have the ability to change our ways. He says it flat-out—every species of bird & beast & reptile & sea creature can & has been brought under control but the tongue no man can control. The tongue is a restless evil full of deadly poison.
It doesn’t seem to be in our DNA to be able to control our tongue. Do you remember a few weeks ago while Obama was giving a speech, when Congressman Joe Wilson shouted out—“You lie?” He later said he wished he hadn’t done that. IMHO, whether what he said was correct or not isn’t the issue. The man was out of line & his little beast temporarily escaped its cage & struck like a rattlesnake.

Also, have you noticed lately how many public figures have lost their job, been shuttled around to get them out of the public eye or have been retired because of the improper use of their tongue? They didn’t know how to cage the beast in their mouth or maybe they just had a lapse & in an unguarded moment the little beast slipped out of his cage.

James is right when he says in essence, one minute we’re using our tongue to glorify God & the next minute we’ve opened our mouth & released “tongue toxins” into the air by saying mean & nasty things. Words can slip off our tongue & past our lips before we even know it.

Famed defense attorney Herbert J. Miller was asked the most important advice he ever gave a client. His answer was, “keep your mouth shut.”

How are we unlike the rest of the world when as Christians we tongue-lash each other & stab each other in the back with our words & too many times are too full of pride to apologize for the wrong things we’ve said. God help us all!!

STRATEGIES FOR CAGING THE BEAST

1. HOLY SILENCE

In modern day language—Zip-it!

Jesus is the example in this regard;

He was oppressed & he was afflicted yet he opened not His mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, & as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not His mouth.—Ish: 53:7

David said;

"I will take heed to my ways that I sin not with my tongue….." Psalm 39-1

As believers, we should seek to develop the virtue of Holy silence; a silence that produces peace, reconciliation, & forgiveness.

I heard about a young unmarried man who was talking to a man who’d been married for many years. The young man, seeking to tap into some of the older man’s wisdom asked this question; “What in the world do you still have to talk about when you’ve been married all those years? It seems to me that after a while you’d just run out of things to say & then…silence.” The married man said with a smile, “Yes my boy you’re right…blessed silence.”

It’s been said that we should never pass up the chance to be quiet. God has placed our “little monster” behind a wall of teeth & between two powerful jaws & as a last resort behind two fastened lips. If you don’t think those jaws are powerful, just have the smallest child with teeth to bite you. Even the most powerful athletes in the world couldn’t deal with bites from human jaws.

Part of our wisdom & even our holiness is what we could say -but don’t.
This doesn’t mean that to be good Christians we should never speak. Speech is too precious & powerful a gift to just give up. Part of what we need is to develop a “filter.” A mark of maturity is the quality of our filter.

James 1:9 says….Let every man be swift to hear & slow to speak. Funny how we’ve gotten that backwards isn’t it?

2.  RECOGNIZE THE PROBLEM FOR WHAT IT IS

If we have a problem with that little critter one inch above our chin & one inch below our nose, we shouldn’t hesitate to take it to God in prayer & ask Him by His Holy Spirit to help us get control.

I heard about a woman who fell under deep conviction for gossiping so she went to her pastor & said, “pastor, I have a problem with gossiping & I’d like to lay my tongue on the alter tonight.” The pastor said, “That will be good, here’s 40 foot of alter, lay as much of it as you can on the alter.”

Many times we criticize ministers for preaching the same precepts & messages over & over but the truth is, some things are so important we need that repetition so that we might be constantly aware. This is especially true as regards the tongue because it can seem to be so trite.

How would you feel if you suspected that your house was “bugged?” If you thought someone was recording your every word how would it affect you? Well, we are being bugged. I’ve heard for years that every sound that’s made goes out into the ether waves & lives on. Apparently sounds never die. That would mean that everything we’ve ever said is alive somewhere.

Maybe that’s what Jesus meant when He said, -But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken.—Matthew 12:6

Our society tells us that people should just “let it all hang out. If you feel it, say it. Never hold back, if you do it’ll make you sick. Get it out there.” Well what about this little piece of wisdom;-“Put a lid on it?”

3. DON’T SAY TOO LITTLE

Just as we should ask ourselves if we’re talking too much, we should also ask ourselves if we’re saying enough.

Proverbs 25:11 says,--A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

God wants to fill our mouths with good things. Too many Christians hold their peace when they should be speaking out.

Don’t say too little when your sweet wife has outdone herself in the kitchen making your favorite meal.
Don’t say too little when you kid works hard to get his/her grades up just to make you proud of them.
Don’t say too little when God has answered your prayers & given you your hearts desire.
Don’t say too little on the birthday of your precious wife who’s the most loyal woman on the planet & has stuck with you through thick & thin.

One more important tip;

4. THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK

“The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.—Proverbs 15:28

Here’s an acrostic that can be helpful & can assure that our words will be gracious & uplifting;

1. T—is it true?
2. H-is it helpful?
3. I—is it inspiring?
4. N.—is it necessary?
5. K—is it kind?

Obviously our words have great weight. But we should take heart because every word of love, grace, mercy, & encouragement will also be remembered.

Malachi 3:16 is an interesting prophetic passage in regards to this;

Then those who revered the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord took note & listened & a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who revered the Lord & thought on His name.

Like David we should pray, set a guard O Lord over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3

In order to use God’s gift of speech for the purpose for which God created it, we must control our tongue so that it is used to worship Him & build up others.

When we successfully cage the beast, we are free to loose words of life, hope, & peace. As I’ve said many times, we can work on it together.


Blessings,


John