Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: SELF-CONTROL (12/09/21)
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TITLE: The Litmus Test For Self Control | Previous Challenge Entry
By Doug Laird
12/15/21 -
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But without a doubt, the litmus test for assessing one’s level of self-control is an analysis of what comes or what fails to come out of one’s mouth at any given time.
On the surface, James 3: 8 NASB doesn’t offer much encouragement by telling us, “…no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.”
But the life of discipleship is not about what we can do by human means. It is about what He can do through us with the enabling power (John 15: 5) that He supplies.
What ever is in the soul structure, be it good or bad, will spill out of the mouth, bringing with it edifying or destructive material (Matt. 12: 34 NASB).”
“For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart (Matt. 12: 34 NASB).”
Scripture (Eccl. 3: 7) makes it clear that there are times to speak and there are times to remain silent.
Failing to speak when we should, will result in opportunities lost (Romans 10: 14), and can create a rift in our own intimate fellowship with the Lord (Mark 8: 38).
Speaking other than for the good (edification) of the one being spoken to (or spoken of) violates the principles of Eph. 4: 29. Simply put, if you don’t have something good to say, keep your big mouth shut.
What is good (edifying) will not always be pleasant, and often challenging. Such good information must be communicated appropriately, with gentleness, and respect (1Pet. 3: 15).
So, on the one hand, that which comes out of our mouths can be evangelizing and or edifying, but on the other hand, it can be as destructive as Hell fire (James 3: 6).
“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: 6 NASB).”
When you are the speaker, the sin of gossip can be avoided by speaking only for edification. When we are the listener, we can nip the present and future gossip in the bud by saying in response, “You know, I really didn’t need to know that.”
Even speaking the truth with the wrong motivation or in the wrong way (2Tim. 2: 24 - 27) is not how an ambassador for Christ is to conduct himself.
When the motive for telling the truth is primarily to tear down someone else in the eyes of the hearer, the wrong motivation is in view.
Advancing disciples spend time every day seeking to learn new doctrine (2Pet. 3: 18), or to develop a better understanding of the Gospel Message or doctrine that they have already stored away (Matt. 7: 24 - 27).
Gossips spend daily time spying on and prying into the private lives of other people (1Tim. 5: 13). This has never been so true, as in the times we are presently living, with the available information on the Internet.
Once the latest news is uncovered, the desire to shout it from the rooftops begins.
There are opposing spiritual forces (Romans 7: 21 - 23) at work within every born-again believer.
These divine or evil forces generate an ever-increasing desire to have an opportunity to share the edifying or destructive information that we have accumulated. When that opportunity presents itself, it is like the pressure behind a bursting dam. No one can hold it back (James 3: 8).
The difference between the advancing disciple and the gossiper is the constructive or the destructive nature of the information that each one wants to learn and share. This reveals the good or the evil in the heart of the one spreading the news.
In conclusion, our tongues have the power to do great good or to do great harm. It is not within our human ability to control our tongues (James 3: 8). If our tongues are to be used by God, we must learn to do this by the retraining and or enabling power that He supplies (John 15: 5).
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