Piercing the Tongue

Control yourself by controling your mouth.

“Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.” - Proverbs 21:23 (Image: Unsplash)

Our three-part series on the Mind, Heart, and Tongue starts with a deeper study of what God considers the most unruly part of the body: the tongue.

In our last discussion, we learned that God considers the tongue an unruly evil, but what exactly does God mean by that?

Since the tongue is the instrument through which we manifest our desires, it is essential to ensure that those desires reflect God's word and not our flesh.

On October 25, 2024, a TikTok creator by the name of TheMusicianScorner shared a video that went viral:

@themusicianscorner THIS IS CRAZY 😭😭😭😭😭 #fyp #viral #trending #explorepage #reels #pastorgetscussedout #comedy #messy #church #orginalcontent #preaching ♬ original sound - TMC PRODUCTIONS

*WARNING: Explicit Language. Viewer discretion is advised.

A visiting pastor curses another pastor for cutting his sermon short while in church. The video went viral.

TikTok - Themusicianscorner (TMC Productions) October 25, 2024

The story is that a visiting preacher's sermon was cut short by the pastor who invited him to preach because the guest was very late getting there. The visiting pastor had just gotten to the heart of his sermon and was not ready to leave. But instead of addressing the situation with the preacher privately, the pastor chose to speak his mind.

Since it was posted, the video has received 121.3 thousand views and well over nine thousand comments, with most viewers condemning the visiting pastor for using explicit language in the house of God.

The visiting pastor was so angry with the preacher about being asked to cut his sermon short that he used profane words to express his disgust.

To be clear, the Bible mentions several times a type of anger known as "indignation.” Merriam-Webster describes indignation as anger aroused by something unjust, unworthy, or mean. We should indeed stand up for ourselves when we feel we are being abused or taken advantage of, but there are better ways of dealing with a problem than venting.

“And the Lord rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath and indignation. and cast them into another land, and bring them into another land, as it is written.” - Deuteronomy 29:28 (Image: Unsplash)

James 3:10 says, “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”

In other words, the same mouth we use to bless should not be used to curse our brother or sister. In this way, the visiting pastor uses his tongue to destroy his credibility as a believer.

We've all experienced times when someone has offended us or made us angry. In the end times, the Bible tells us there will be many temptations to provoke our feelings and desires. When we feel tempted to speak, we often let our words fly, using insults and harsh language. If we say we follow Christ, this can make us seem like hypocrites to those we want to share God’s message with.

As ambassadors for Christ, we are marked for what we think and believe, but more so for what we say. We are carriers of the word, and our testimony is our witness of God’s presence in us. Proverbs 18:21 clarifies, “Death and life are in the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”