Taming the Tongue

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

(James 1:26 ESV)

What does it mean to "bridle your tongue"? Because if you do bridle your tongue, your religion is true. But if you don't bridle your tongue, then you deceive your own heart, and your religion is worthless.

A cutting tongue is a besetting sin for those who have learned to be skillful with words. Herman Bavinck (1854-1921), a Dutch theologian, says Bavinck:

"A cutting tongue is a token of a bitter heart. People with cutting tongues are like butchers who cut the skin off the bodies of people so that they cannot rest or be at peace. It is a sign of spiritual butchery, people who are skilled at skinning others alive."

Wow, that is seriously convicting. We need to watch our tongues.

Notice how James frames religion: both negatively and positively. Not only do we bridle our tongues, but we also must "visit orphans and widows in their affliction." It is not enough merely to refrain from speaking evil that we must bridle our tongues. It is not enough that we don't get drunk and act wild (Eph. 4:26-27). We must also put on righteous anger and learn not to be passive in the face of wrongdoing. Within these frames, James is showing us the difference between being conformed to the world and transformed by God. It is not enough to be on the outside someone who refrains from doing evil; if you think you are a decent person because you don't do outwardly evil things, you are more deceived then if you had committed gross and outward sins.

James 1:26 also connects tongue-bridling with worship. Pure and undefiled religion is worship. In 1 Chronicles 16:4, David appointed Levites in worship to "invoke, to thank, and to praise the LORD God of Israel." The word invoke means to remember and to repeat God's name, his titles, and attributes. "Thank" here means to speak praise with the tongue and to speak it publicly. The roots of the words tie directly to use of the voice and mouth. As a result, we see that in worship, the tongue is central. What you do with your tongue is central to your worship and therefore central to your identity and standing before God.

James mentions curses and boasts alongside the tongue in James 3. I have two questions for you: Do you use your tongue every day to thank and praise God? Do you more talk about your own works than praise God? Then bridle your tongue. The loveliness of a holy tongue is that as God uses it to build others up, it itself is ministered to. . . . and it partakes of salvation now, in part, and will be a partner in salvation when the consummate kingdom comes.

- Patrick and the Elders