19 When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value.
21 The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment.
And, later in the chapter, we read this:
31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out.
We have to allow the Holy Spirit to shape our words. This involves having the proper heart toward God - if we are storing up evil intent in our spirits, if we meditate on sinful anger rather than dwell in the peace of God, it could very well be that during a weak moment, our words will reflect this improper thinking. Or, we may just be careless in what we speak - in a frail attempt at humor, we may speak something that we end up wishing we could take back. And, while an apology is always appropriate, it cannot completely negate, I believe, the effect of the harsh, hurtful, or haughty words that are spoken.
In James 1, we discover some powerful truth about speaking what is pleasing to God:
19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
We have to allow the Holy Spirit to shape our words. This involves having the proper heart toward God - if we are storing up evil intent in our spirits, if we meditate on sinful anger rather than dwell in the peace of God, it could very well be that during a weak moment, our words will reflect this improper thinking. Or, we may just be careless in what we speak - in a frail attempt at humor, we may speak something that we end up wishing we could take back. And, while an apology is always appropriate, it cannot completely negate, I believe, the effect of the harsh, hurtful, or haughty words that are spoken.
In James 1, we discover some powerful truth about speaking what is pleasing to God:
19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
20 for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
The news came swiftly enough - the President of The Ohio State University, Gordon Gee, announced he would be resigning down the 1st of July. In a statement, he basically felt that he had come to a point in his career that he needed to retire. And, he did not reference the controversy that has been circulating around him the past few days.
Seems a video surfaced in which this President of a prestigious Big Ten university denigrated the leadership of Notre Dame, with whom he had been trying to work out some sort of football scheduling agreement. He basically said that they were holy on Sunday, but the rest of the week, specifically Thursday or Friday they were - not. He referred to them as those (expletive) Catholics. Of course, later he apologized, and he was placed on a remediation plan.
This was not the first time that Dr. Gee had been a bit loose with the tongue, thinking himself to be humorous. USA Today provided a rundown of just some of the multiple gaffes that Gee had made over the years.
And, let me just say, sometimes we think we are joking, making a feeble attempt at humor, and it comes out flat and can even be insulting. Gee apparently thought he had some sort of comedic gift. According to a Fox Sports Ohio story, when a reporter had asked him about the SEC and others chiding the Big Ten about having 14 teams, he replied: "You tell the SEC when they can learn to read and write, then they can figure out what we're doing."
He disparaged the football schedules of national title hopefuls Boise State and TCU, saying Ohio State did not play "the Little Sisters of the Poor." He likened the complex job of running a university to "the Polish Army."
When asked in March 2011 whether the school had considered firing embattled coach Jim Tressel, a grinning Gee said: "No. Are you kidding? Let me just be very clear. I'm just hopeful the coach doesn't dismiss me." By the way, it should be noted that even though Coach Tressel resigned in the wake of a scandal in which players received cash for OSU memorabilia and tattoos, Gee was at the helm of the university, which landed on probation, so Urban Meyer's undefeated season did not result in a BCS championship birth, instead of Notre Dame.
He had said that the top goal of Big Ten presidents is to "make certain that we have institutions of like-minded academic integrity," and added, "So you won't see us adding Louisville." He also said Kentucky would not be added.
The news came swiftly enough - the President of The Ohio State University, Gordon Gee, announced he would be resigning down the 1st of July. In a statement, he basically felt that he had come to a point in his career that he needed to retire. And, he did not reference the controversy that has been circulating around him the past few days.
Seems a video surfaced in which this President of a prestigious Big Ten university denigrated the leadership of Notre Dame, with whom he had been trying to work out some sort of football scheduling agreement. He basically said that they were holy on Sunday, but the rest of the week, specifically Thursday or Friday they were - not. He referred to them as those (expletive) Catholics. Of course, later he apologized, and he was placed on a remediation plan.
This was not the first time that Dr. Gee had been a bit loose with the tongue, thinking himself to be humorous. USA Today provided a rundown of just some of the multiple gaffes that Gee had made over the years.
And, let me just say, sometimes we think we are joking, making a feeble attempt at humor, and it comes out flat and can even be insulting. Gee apparently thought he had some sort of comedic gift. According to a Fox Sports Ohio story, when a reporter had asked him about the SEC and others chiding the Big Ten about having 14 teams, he replied: "You tell the SEC when they can learn to read and write, then they can figure out what we're doing."
He disparaged the football schedules of national title hopefuls Boise State and TCU, saying Ohio State did not play "the Little Sisters of the Poor." He likened the complex job of running a university to "the Polish Army."
When asked in March 2011 whether the school had considered firing embattled coach Jim Tressel, a grinning Gee said: "No. Are you kidding? Let me just be very clear. I'm just hopeful the coach doesn't dismiss me." By the way, it should be noted that even though Coach Tressel resigned in the wake of a scandal in which players received cash for OSU memorabilia and tattoos, Gee was at the helm of the university, which landed on probation, so Urban Meyer's undefeated season did not result in a BCS championship birth, instead of Notre Dame.
He had said that the top goal of Big Ten presidents is to "make certain that we have institutions of like-minded academic integrity," and added, "So you won't see us adding Louisville." He also said Kentucky would not be added.
Apparently, this guy was a really good fundraiser for the school and very congenial. He had been at OSU before and they asked him to come back in 2007, after a 7-year stint in the SEC - at Vanderbilt.
But, he had what became a fatal flaw - his tongue. That's not uncommon for humans. The Bible is replete of warnings about controlling the tongue. See James 3 - it says that the tongue is like the rudder of a ship and it is set on fire by the powers of the enemy.
The Bible gives us principles that we can use to control our tongue. We are told to exhibit control in our timing - being slow to speak. So often, we can fall into the trap of speaking before thinking - engaging the mouth before the brain. While I have been in situations where I have been convicted about the words I say and wish I could take them back, if we're listening to the Holy Spirit, He will provide a check for us even before we speak.
We are cautioned about the content of our words, to stay away from idle chatter, or meaningless words. And, we are told to encourage, rather than tear others down. We are instructed to bring the sacrifice of praise to God - worship and speaking God's Word can be helpful in bringing this potentially damaging instrument under control.
Our words flow out of the condition of our hearts - Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, and we can tell a lot about a person by the usage of their words. Our words build a resume for us, and the impression that others have of us can be largely influenced by what we're saying - we cannot be too careful, and we have a powerful partner to help us as we seek to please God by the words we say.
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