"Redeeming the Tongue"

[Excerpted from Maurice Robert's "Redeeming the Tongue" from his book, "The Thought of God".]

"When the Christian comes to the end of his pilgrimage, one sin he will regret is his idle speech. It is assumed that no true believer allows himself to go on in outward sins such as drunkenness, theft or immorality. It is assumed, too, that the believer is concerned to put a stop to all inward sins, not least to sinful thoughts. But there is reason to believe that our sins of speech are specially in need of correction.

Our sins of thought bring us much shame inwardly; but our sins of speech expose us to shame in the eyes of others. Our sinful words are our sinful thoughts verbalized. They are audibly broadcast. They reflect the corruption within us as in a mirror. They do harm to ourselves and they do harm to others. Our folly, formerly known only to ourselves, is now apparent to all men. It is to be feared, therefore, that we do not read God's Word on this subject with anything like the attention it deserves. 'The heart of fools proclaims foolishness.' 'A fool's lips enter into contention.' 'A foolish woman is clamorous.' 'A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snares of his soul.' 'A fool utters all his mind.' What shame a good man feels when he spoils his testimony by speaking foolishly! Scripture says: 'Dead flies cause the ointment of the perfumer to send forth a stinking savor: so does a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor.'

There is another reason, too, why we might look back in sorrow at our misuse of the tongue and therefore keep a more careful watch of it in the future. The tone of a Christian's conversation gives us a fair idea of how sanctified he is. 'By your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned," said Christ. The meaning must surely be that words betray the true character of every man. They reveal the state of the heart.

Was it not our Savior and Judge himself who warned us: 'I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment'? Similarly, the apostle Paul issues this sober command to us: 'Let no corrupt/worthless communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearer.' There is a twofold duty placed before us in these words: to refrain from careless and unprofitable talk and to study to build one another up by well-chosen, soul-fattening conversation.

There is a special blessing attached to godly and spiritual conversation. To this Malachi alludes in his prophecy: 'Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.' What a promise! If Christians today were seriously to practice the pattern of this verse, how much more of God's presence we should enjoy! Then let us study to edify one another. Those who do so will discover that even the Almighty himself gives ear."