Control Your Tongue

by Luiz Felipe Lima De Albuquerque

"From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some young men came out of the town and jeered at him. “Go away, you baldhead!” they said. “Go away, you baldhead!” He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths" (II Kings 2:23-24).

• With the ease of commenting on social media, many people can quickly make their opinions known to a large audience. The power to influence many is in the hands of a single individual who only needs a cell phone.
• If you stop to read, sometimes even on religious pages, you will see people saying that hell doesn't exist, for example, or that free will doesn't exist, or that it's fine for a Christian to divorce if they don't like their marriage. It's not surprising that many believe these ideas; they say what many want to hear.
• Although technology has changed, human beings have always struggled with controlling their tongue. An example is the case of Elisha, a prophet who suffered heavy insults from 42 young men.

Based on their behavior, we can draw three lessons:

Morality and Consequences

The first lesson is that the fool does not think about morality or consequences before speaking.

• By the way the young men spoke, they knew that Elisha had lost his master, Elijah, and that Elisha was a prophet. Still, they gathered in a group to insult him.
• The truth is that groups, movements, ideologies, and trends can often make us forget that our actions, especially what we say, carry weight, and the responsibility is still ours, especially when it comes to consequences.
• Their worst mistake, perhaps, was thinking that there would be no consequences, much less immediate consequences.

Timing

The second lesson is that the fool chooses the worst time.

• We can observe in the story that Elisha was going through a difficult time of mourning, as evidenced by his quick reaction to the young men's attitude, and yet they insisted on insulting him.
• In the modern world, we call this a "person without a filter." This is the type of person who says everything on their mind, often speaking nonsense and saying things that shouldn't be said to people who won't always tolerate it.

Destructive

The third lesson is that the fool speaks to destroy

• "Go away, you baldhead! Go away, you baldhead!" is certainly an insult to Elijah's memory and a direct provocation to Elisha. Here we see that the fool does not speak to heal; he speaks to wound.
• If you access a social network, for example, you will see people insulting each other and justifying their actions: "He irritated me," "That's just how I am!" "He's not one of our group!"
• The 42 young men also thought it was fine to hurt Elisha, until two bears appeared and mauled them. The intention to wound turned against them.

Controlling Our Tongue

Observing this case, let's consider an important question: Does Christianity teach us to control our tongue?

"But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shal be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire" (Matthew 5:22 KJV).

• In Christianity, we should not get angry with a brother without cause, much less insult them. An example is the word Raca, which, for those who don't know, means empty, foolish, useless, and worthless. Compared to today's insults, this is still mild.
• Jesus was clear: Christianity is not permission to say whatever you want.

This leads us to three aspects in which the Christian is completely the opposite of the 42 foolish young men.

Think

The first lesson is that Christians think before speaking.

In John 8:3-6, Jesus was surrounded by Pharisees waiting for an answer about a woman caught in adultery. Instead of rushing to answer, Jesus decided to write in the sand before responding:

"And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not" (John 8:3-6 KJV).

Here we see a well-thought-out trap:

• If Jesus ordered the execution of the adulterous woman, he would provoke Roman Law, because civilians were forbidden from executing people.
• If Jesus said they should free the woman, he would be accused of violating the Law of God.

Jesus, being extremely intelligent, realized the trap and spent time writing in the sand, and then said that whoever "was without sin" could cast the first stone. Jesus' attitude reflects the behavior we should have.

• "The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth" (Proverbs 10:20-21). The Christian's tongue must be choice silver: pure, valuable, and selected. The Christian chooses very carefully what he says.
• "Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles" (Proverbs 21:23). Keeping one's mouth means limiting or restricting it, avoiding more trouble than necessary.

The Christian thinks about morality and consequences before speaking.

Choose the Best Time

The second lesson is that the Christian chooses the best time

Surrounded by his enemies in Matthew 27, Jesus has the opportunity to defend himself before Pilate, but he does not. Many today would call this passivity, but the truth is that Jesus knew that this was not the time to defend himself. When the chief priests and elders accused him, he answered nothing. "Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly" (Matthew 27:12-14 KJV).

This example reflects a fundamental aspect of using the tongue: timing. The Bible teaches us that whoever controls their tongue knows when is the best time to speak:

• Solomon compares words spoken at the right time to apples of gold in settings of silver. Although apples of gold are worth a lot, the delivery is much more complete with an appropriate setting:
  • "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver" (Proverbs 25:11 KJV).
• He also teaches that sometimes not speaking is a sign of knowledge:
  • "He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit" (Proverbs 17:27 KJV).
  • "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof" (Proverbs 18:21 KJV).

The Christian waits for the best time to speak.

Building Up

The third lesson is that the Christian speaks to build up, not to wound, but does not stifle the Truth.

John and James were known as the Sons of Thunder, and not by chance: both were quick and explosive, but they lacked the maturity to understand that Christ did not come to destroy lives, but to save them. Let's look at the following text:

"As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, 'Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?' But Jesus turned and rebuked them, saying, 'You do not know what kind of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them'” (Luke 9:51-56 NIV).

See how Christ made a point of correcting them at that moment, whether they liked it or not. How would you feel if you heard someone say, "You don't know what you are doing?" But it was thanks to this example that the apostles reached maturity and maintained their assertiveness, without forgetting the doctrine of Christ. We have several examples in the Bible where John is assertive and direct, but not to wound, but to build up:

• "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (I John 2:4 KJV). Observe how John uses the word liar, without insulting, but accusing truthfully.
• "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds" (II John 9-11 KJV).  We can observe that John made it clear, without mincing words, that false brothers should be kept away, and that those who welcome them into their homes are complicit in their evil deeds.
• "I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church. Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God" (III John 9-11 KJV). Observe how John, this time, speaks directly about a brother who has bad behavior.
• Perhaps John would not be very popular among Christians today; perhaps some here would not even accept him at first, especially with modern philosophies within the church that try to censor those who point out what is wrong.
• One of the problems Christians need to deal with is confusing "love" with "sweeping the dirt under the rug and pretending everything is fine so as not to scare people away." John is an excellent example that being a Christian means being willing to speak the truth for edification, even if it is "unpleasant," "annoying," "repetitive," or causes distance from the false brother. The Christian corrects for edification, regardless of the consequences.

We can say with certainty that being a Christian is not about being aggressive or passive, but rather being prepared to correct and act according to doctrine.

As a Christian, I hope this word takes root in your heart, and that everyone here learns to use their words to build up and guide our brothers and visitors instead of wounding or remaining silent so as not to displease. May God bless us.