Taming the Tongue (Family Service)

James 3v1-12

Taming the tongue (family service)

I wonder what you think is the most dangerous job in the world?

Maybe you think it’s looking after snakes where your snake might bite you;

Or maybe you think its being a helicopter pilot where your helicopter might crash;

Or maybe you think its being a fire fighter. You might get burned by the fire.

Well today I want to tell you that my job is actually a dangerous job. My job is to teach people about God. And the reason why that’s so dangerous is because of the tool I have to use.

Hands up if you've ever worked with a dangerous tool. Maybe you've worked with a big saw or a hammer. Those are dangerous tools. You canhurtyourself with those things.

But you know the tool I have to work with is even more dangerous than those things. More dangerous than a saw or a hammer.

Do you want to know what tool I have to work with? I have to work with my tongue.

And the Bible says that the tongue is a very dangerous tool.

And its not dangerous because it can cut your hand off …like a saw;

Or because it can squash your finger …like a hammer.

The reason why your tongue is dangerous is because it’s very easy to do bad things with your tongue. Just think of all the bad things you can do with your tongue. What can you do?

You can lie with your tongue.

You can swear with your tongue. You can gossip with your tongue. You can say something unkind to someone with your tongue. You can say; "You're an idiot”.

And so that’s why the tongue is so dangerous. It’s because it's very easy to sin with your tongue. And to make God angry.

And so that’s why the Bible says its dangerous to be a teacher.

James chapter 3 verse 1 literally says: “Not many of you should presume to be teachers my brothers, because you know that we who teach will have a greater judgment.”

I think what he’s saying is that ur in a greater danger of judgment if ur a teacher. Cause you working with such a dangerous tool.

So this morning I’m talking to you about the tongue. And I want to show you why the tongue is so dangerous. I want to tell you four things about the tongue.

1)Thefirst thing I want to tell you is that your tongue has got lots of power.

Now if you don’t mind I’m going to ask you all to stick out your tongues. Show me your tongue. Lets see who’s got the biggest tongue.

Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

Wow, there are some big tongues here.

But actually, if you think about it, your tongue’s pretty small isn’t it?

If you compare your tongue to your foot. Which one’s bigger? Your tongue or your foot? Your foot’s bigger.

Or if you compare your tongue to your leg? Which one’s bigger? Your leg is bigger.

Or if you compare your tongue to your hand? Your hand’s bigger?

You see your tongue is a small part in your body. Its not a big part.

But you know, sometimes, things can be very small, but they can still have lots of power. And they can do things that are very big.

So let me give you some examples.

I want to show you some things that are very big. But they are controlled by things that are very small.

So look up at the screen. There’s a picture. Who can tell me what that is?

That’s a horse. And a horse is a very big animal. You know a horse can weigh up to 1000 kilograms. That’s very big. And you know a horse is very strong. It can carry 250 kilograms on its back. That’s very strong. And you know a horse is very fast. It can run up to 48 km’s per hour. That’s very fast.

But you know, even though a horse is a big and strong and fast animal, it can be controlled by something that’s very small.

Look at the next picture. That’s called a bit. You can put a bit in a horse’s mouth, like in the next picture (there you can see the bit in the horse’s mouth). If you put a bit in a horse's mouth and you hold it, then you can control the horse and you can turn it and you can make it go where you want it to go.

So that’s an example. You've got a very big animal. But it’s controlled by something that’s very small.

Let me show you another example. Who can tell me what this is?

Yes it’s a boat.A model of a boat.Made by Uncle Rob. Maybe you want to go and ask Uncle Rob afterwards to show you how to make a boat.

And you know that a boat is also a very big thing. Even if the wind is blowing, and there are big waves, a boat can go straight through the waves....Straight through sea. It's very strong. It isn't broken by the waves, or blown away by the wind.

But did you know, even though the boat is so big, there’s something that controls the boat? And it’s very small. This little thing over here. That’s called a rudder. It's much smaller than the rest of the boat. But it’s the thing that controls the boat and steers it and makes it go in the direction the pilot wants it to go.

So those are some examples of small things. But even though they are very small, they’ve got lots of power to control things that are very big.

And so that’s what the tongue is like. It’s a small part of the body. But it can do big things.

Listen to what the Bible says in James chapter 3 verse 3:

“When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn thewholeanimal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.”

You see, when you speak words to people, you can do very big things.

Maybe you've got another friend who might be feeling very sad. You can say something kind to them. Or you can tell them something from the Bible. And through your words you can make them feel very strong.

I want to read you a story from this book by Larry Crabb where he tells the story about when he was a young boy.

“It was customary in our congregation to encourage young men to enter into the privilege of worship by standing and praying aloud. That particular Sunday I sensed the pressure of the saints (not I fear the leading of the Spirit), and I responded by unsteadily leaving my chair, for the first time, with the intention of praying.

Filled less with worship than with nervousness, I found my theology becoming confused to the point of heresy. I remember thanking the Father for hanging on the cross and praising Christ for triumphantly bringing the Spirit from the grave. Stuttering throughout, I finally thought of the wordAmen(perhaps the first evidence of the Spirit’s leading), said it, and sat down. I recall staring at the floor, too embarrassed to look around, and solemnly vowing never again to pray or speak aloud in front of a group.”

“When the service was over, I darted toward the door, not wishing to encounter an elder who might feel obliged to correct my twisted theology. But I was not quick enough. An older Christian man named Jim Dunbar intercepted me, put his arm on my shoulder and cleared his throat to speak.”

I remember thinking to myself, “here it comes. Oh well, just endure it and then get to the car.” I then listened to this godly gentleman speak words that I can repeat verbatim today, more thantwenty years later.

“Larry,” he said, “there’s one thing I want you to know. Whatever you do for the Lord, I’m behind you one thousand percent.” Then he walked away.

Even as a write these words, my eyes fill with tears. I have yet to tell that story to an audience without at least mildly choking. These words were life words. They had power. They reached deep into my being. My resolve never again to speak publicly weakened instantly.

Since the day those words were spoken, God has led me into a ministry in which I regularly address and pray before crowds of all sizes. I do it without stuttering. I love it. Not only death, but also life lies in the power of the tongue.”

“God intends that we be people who use words to encourage one another. A well-timed word has the power to urge a runner to finish the race, to rekindle hope when despair has set in, to spark warmth in an otherwise cold heart…”

That’s a powerful quote.

But now children I want you to listen to me. I want to tell you the biggest thing you can do with your tongue. You can tell someone about Jesus. Lots of people in this world don’t know Jesus. They don’t love Jesus. They don’t trust in Jesus. The Bible says that if you don’t trust in Jesus, then you are going to be punished. You are going to go to hell forever and ever.

We want these people to be saved. And you know how we can do that?

The only way is by speaking to them with our tongues. And telling them about Jesus: that He died for our sins so that if we trust in Him, we can be forgiven. And we don’t have to go to hell. We can go to heaven.

Hands up if you’ve ever told someone about Jesus. That’s a very big thing to do with your tongue. And it’s a very good thing. You can save someone from going to hell.

So you see the tongue is very powerful. It can do big things in the world.

But here’s another thing I want to tell you about the tongue. We’ve seen that the tongue is very powerful. But now I want you to see that the tongue is also very evil.

Lets go to the next picture. That’s a picture of a person with a very big tongue.

Can you see what’s coming out from his tongue? Look at the top. Whats on top of his tongue? That's fire. And can you see, from the tip of his tongue, there’s something dripping down. That’s poison dripping down from his tongue.

And you know that’s what James says your tongue is like. He says it's so evil. In verse 6 he says it's a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. And in verse 8 he says it's full of deadly poison.

What happens if you touch fire? It burns you.

What happens if you eat poison? It can kill you.

That is what the tongue is like. It can burn people. It can hurt people. It can even kill people.

I wonder if any of you have ever sung that song; "Sticks and stones can break my bones. But words can never harm me."

You know that song is very wrong!

It's not only sticks and stones that can hurt people. You can actually hurt people evenmorewith your words. If someone hits you with a stick, maybe you’ll have a sore on your arm. And that sore could take a long time to get better. Maybe it’ll take a whole month to get better.

But if yousaysomething horrible to someone, then those words might stay in that person’s heart for a muchlongertime. And they might make him angry and sad for many years.

Some people who are very old, maybe even more than 70 years old,are still angry. And they still get sad, because of words that someone said to them when they were very small.

So I think we need to change that song. This is what we should sing:

“sticks and stones can break my bones. But words canreallyharm me.”

You see words are very dangerous. They can really make people sore.

And so we need to be careful with our words.

I’ve got something here in my pocket. Who can tell me what these are?

These are matches.

And what do you use matches for?

You use matches to start a fire. Look here.

You see I’ve started a little fire.....it’s a small little flame. But I’m going to blow this little flame out now. Do you know why?

Because even though this is a very small flame, if it falls on the ground, it can start a very big fire. And so hopefully your parents have taught you: you mustn’t play with matches. That’s a very good lesson. Because matches can be very dangerous. Even though matches are very small, they can cause a very big fire. And they can burn down trees and houses and they can even burn down this church.

Look at the screen. There’s another picture up on the screen.

That’s a picture of a fire that started in Canada earlier this year on the first of May. And this fire got so big, it burnt down so many trees and it burnt down so many houses. The firefighters were fighting it, but they couldn’t put it out. People had to run away. And the fire kept burning for 66 days, from the first of May until the 5thJuly, beforeit was declared to be under control.

They say it was the most costly natural disaster that Canada has ever experienced.

It was a terrible fire. But you know how that fire was started. Like all fires it was started with a very small flame.

And that’s what James says the tongue is like. It’s a verysmallpart of the body. But it's just like a little flame of fire. If it starts something, it can grow. And it can spread. And it can become something that’s very bad. Do you know that it can even become worse than a big forest fire?

Let's look at the next picture on the screen. That’s a picture of a man called Adolf Hitler. He was the leader of Germany. And when he was the leader, the country of Germany did some very bad things. They killed more than 6 million Jews.

But you know why they killed the Jews? It was because of the words of this man. This man spoke bad words to the people. But they were powerful words. And he was able to influence the people. So that they killed lots and lots of Jews.

You see, this was even worse than a big fire. It killed lots more people because of the words that this man spoke.

And you can also start fires with your words.

Imagine there’s someone in your class called Peter. And imagine you don’t like Peter, so you go to your friend. And you whisper to your friend. You know I don’t like Peter. He’s a horrible person. And he’s got an ugly face.

Then your friend also starts having bad thoughts about Peter. Soon your friend also doesn’t like Peter. So your friend tells another friend that Peter is horrible. And eventually everyone in the class doesn’t like Peter. They all think Peter’s an ugly person. No one wants to be Peter’s friend. And so Peter is very sad. He doesn’t want to go to school anymore. So his parents decide to take him out of the school.

You see, that’s what your words can do. You just tell one person. But that person can tell more people. And so your words can spread like a fire.

Another way that lots of people spread fires with their words is by writing them on their phones. Then they send them on whatsapp or twitter or facebook. You can say bad things about someone and those words can spread. Lots of people can read them. And it can make that person very sad. You know I was looking yesterday on the internet. There are many people who have even killed themselves because they get so sad when they read what people have written about them on the internet.

So you see your words are like a fire. They can do lots of damage.

Just like you need to be very careful with a match.....don't play with a match. In the same way you need to be very careful with your tongue....don't play with your words. Don’t just throw your words around. Think about what you are going to say. Don’t start fires with your tongue!

Okay So we’ve seen two things about the tongue. What have we seen? We’ve seen that the tongue is very powerful. The tongue is very evil. Now I want to tell you another thing about the tongue.

The tongue is also very difficult to control.

Hand up if you've ever seen a very dangerous animal. What’s the most dangerous animal you've ever seen?

Did you know that some of the most dangerous animals in the world have been tamed by people?

Look at the picture on the screen. That’s a picture of a lion. That’s a very dangerous animal. It can eat people. But look at that picture. There’s a boy busy hugging the lion. You see, that boy has tamed that lion. So it doesn’t eat him.

Look at the next picture. That’s a picture of a killer whale. It’s a very dangerous animal. It can eat seals. And other whales. But look at the picture. There’s a person busy swimming with the killer whale. Even touching it. That killer whale has been tamed.