The tongue a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts

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July 28, 2012

The tongue a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts

Verna Davis Special to the Tribune-Star The Tribune Star Sat Jul 28, 2012, 05:00 AM EDT

TERRE HAUTE —

Last year when my husband was going through chemotherapy for his lymphoma, a well-meaning church member said, “Is Doug OK now? I mean we went to all the trouble finding him to be our minister and we’d sure hate to lose him now.” I thought, “I sure would hate to lose him, too, lady!”

Then there’s that TV commercial made by a bunch of lawyers hoping to make a fortune on the misfortune of those suffering from Mesothelioma. The lawyer/spokesman boldly says: “If you or any member of your family has died due to long-term exposure to asbestos …” I wonder in which cemetery the lawyers held their consultations.

A friend of mine relates what a woman said to her when the woman found out my friend was related to someone the woman knew. “Well, I never would have guessed you were related. She was so pretty and you two don’t look a thing alike.” Well!

Baseball’s Yogi Berra once reminded us, “Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.” Umm, I’ll keep that in mind!

I don’t know what Richard Nixon was thinking when he said, while attending Charles De Gaulle’s funeral, “This is a great day for France!” Well, of all the gall!

Mark Twain was right-on when he said, “It is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” Well said, Mr. Clemons.

Oh, if we could only tame our tongues.

James 3:2-10 says, “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. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.

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.

Consider that a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.”

James also wrote in 1:26: “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.”

Oh, if we could only tame our tongues.

Verna Davis, speaker and writer, maybe reached at VrdSpeaks@yahoo.com.

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