Special thanks to Anton Beetge of The Silver Sword for writing this final post.
A man called Frank Tyger once said: “There is no evidence that the tongue is connected to the brain”
And how apt his observation was! Articulating our thoughts is often very difficult, sometimes we just cant bring the right words to mind and other times, the things we blurt out surprise even us! We’ve all had times where we sit there with a mouth full of teeth, unable to break an awkward silence, and I find that especially at night, when I’m tired, my tongue can run away from me so that I dont know where my words are coming from! Its easy to assume then, that the tongue has a mind of its own, doing as it pleases. James says in chapter 3:7-12
“For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.”
After reading this passage, one can only come to the conclusion that, Mr Tyger must have been correct – there is no connection between the tongue and the brain!
Read the passage again.
James says: “but no human being can tame the tongue”!!! This is hopeless! Why is James teaching us about the tongue, and implying that it should be brought into submission if no man can control it? Well, comparing scripture with scripture, Paul affirms James’ implied message in 1 Cor 6:19-20
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
So then, we are commanded to control/tame our tongues, but according to James, this is something we simply cannot do. “Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.?” Obviously not!
But as we are commanded to tame our tongues, it is implied that the tongue is indeed connected to something in us. But no amount of willpower, discipline or determination on our part will give us control over this organ which can do so much good and so much bad, justify us, or condemn us at the same time. The tongue is NOT connected to our brains then.
Surely, this situation is beginning to ring bells in our minds?
While you strain your ears to hear those bells, remember that God’s Word does tell us what the tongue is connected to!
Luke 6:45 – “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
I trust that that verse set the bells off, clanging loudly, so that you already know the solution to the problem of taming our tongues. Yes, this requires more than a disciplined mind, because though a disciplined person may ‘override’ his heart with his mind for a time, when push comes to shove the tongue is connected to the heart, not the mind. When all is said and done, “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”
Who then can change his heart, for Jeremiah writes: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
The answer, is no one! And the solution is nothing short of regeneration! We need new hearts, and a righteousness that Christ has earned for us, to be able to tame the tongue and have control over it. We need our hearts to be filled with Christ’s merit so that their overflow (the words we pour forth everyday without thinking), “like a spring” will pure, holy and untainted. There is NO other way!
What is feeding your tongue? Has it been tamed, and next time your tongue runs away from you - what will it have to say?
