Steering the Body With the Mouth
1Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
2For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
3If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.
4Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
5So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
________________________________________
I frequent a Christian men’s message board. I’m often amazed at how quickly our choice of words shows original sin at work. It’s easy to do even in person when you are talking face to face, and that is what this scripture speaks of. It’s our ability to mouth off at our wondrous capabilities or extrapolate every detail we can find on the weakness and failings of others.
I think what is all too common here in the 21st century is the ability to let our tongues really get out of control when we are NOT face to face. It’s probably the more preferred method of communication today.
Email, voicemail, Twitter, Facebook, text messages, chat clients, message boards, and, yes I am willing to admit it, blogs. I talk with some of the men on the message board I mentioned from time to time on the phone, and have even gotten together with a few in real life. We’ve talked about how easy it is, when you are a disembodied voice or just typed words, to boast about yourself or trounce on others.
I just thought this scripture had a lot of merit in a world filled with lots of face-to-face-less communication. I know that I’m guilty of it, much more often than I should like to admit.
No trackbacks yet.