James 3:2
“3 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.”

Sometimes I wonder what part of the brain my tongue is tied to. I know I don’t understand life or God perfectly, yet I do this blog, mentor those who the rest of society shuns, and am a leader at work. I am not a perfect man. Just ask my previous wives (or current wife), my children, those I mentor, my friends, or those who work for me. My tongue seems to be tied to a brain all is own.

A word spoken is remembered far longer than a deed done. My tongue is tied directly to the real me. What I say, what I express when I’m not thinking about what I’m going to express, is the window into my true soul, my true heart, my true being. Sad but true, it’s who I am. Looking at scripture, I’m not the only one in this boat. When scripture talks about the tongue it’s a broad sweep across history and geography, it’s not limited at all.

That said, what my unleashed tongue says now is different than what it said in the past. As the Holy Spirit is working on His transformation of me, my tongue is unleashing a different tune. It’s encouraging to reflect back on what I have said vs. what comes out (unfiltered even) now. It’s becoming outward serving, not inward serving. It’s also a work in progress not perfection.

How about you? Are your words quenching water or flaming arrows? Is your unleashed tongue something you keep wishing would follow your self image but doesn’t? The tongue is the window into your true heart. If you don’t like what you see, only God can change you.  If you aren’t seeing change, there’s only one answer — you aren’t letting the Holy Spirit into your heart to transform you. It takes an act of submission, absolute submission to the love and wisdom of God to transform our souls. The goal is to become more like Christ and only He knows what that’s like — we certainly don’t. Only He can get us on that path. Allow yourself to be transformed: invite the disruptive force of God into your heart, embrace the discomfort of transformation, submit your will to God’s will for you.

Verse 8 says no human can tame the tongue. Only God has the power to do that. Let Him.