I am Bill’s Tongue
Mark Roberts
I am just a muscle, one of the smaller muscles in the body, yet I have great power. In almost every good thing Bill does I play an active role. And, sadly, when Bill is doing something wrong most of the time I am part of that too. Bill gets frustrated with me because no one can tame me, but he knows how valuable I am. I am Bill’s tongue.
The best way for me tell about me is to let you know all the good things I can do. It is a long list! Tongues are good for many things and nearly all of them are essential to the things that make life good. For example, I can sing. Singing is a marvelous way to express emotions, whether Bill is feeling happy or blue. Singing can even stir emotions, like when I sing Bill’s college alma mater, or the National Anthem, or of course, spiritual psalms and hymns. Psalm 89:1 says “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.” That is the best kind of singing. It means I am praising God and thanking Him for who He is and what He has done. It also means I am edifying Bill’s brothers and sisters in Christ (Ephesians 5:19). There is just something about words set to music that has a powerful effect on Bill’s heart and mind that words by themselves just do not have. It is amazing to think that the tongue can shape air and sounds into words that have musical tones embedded in them. Yes, I can make music!
I also help Bill eat. Food has to be chewed and to be chewed it has to be moved in and out of the teeth. God made me with four opposing sets of muscles so that I can skillfully handle Bill’s food for him. His teeth go up and down and grind with great force, but I stay out of the way (most of the time!). Of course, it isn’t just the work of chewing that I assist with. On top of me are thousands of taste buds. They determine whether Bill perceives something as sweet, bitter, salty or sour. David said, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103). He was speaking of the Scriptures, but without me, nothing would have any taste at all. There are 10,000 taste buds on the average tongue but the way Bill loves sweets like Hershey bars and spicy Mexican food makes me think I’ve got more than average. Occasionally Stomach complains that we send too much his way because I can get Bill to eat more simply because I want to deliver those great tastes just one more time!I supposed I am most famous for being able to speak. God made me to do this primarily (Exodus 4:11) and this is unquestionably what I do best. It is almost impossible to estimate all the good the tongue can do by speaking the right kind of words. I can speak words of encouragement like Barnabas was always doing (Acts 4:36; 11:22-23) or I can say “I love you” and make Bill’s wife or children feel so good. I can say those important words “thank you” that signal a grateful spirit. If you are lost I can give you directions, or if you aren’t sure what to do I can speak clear instructions to help you complete a task. I can teach what I know about history, life, or hobbies so others will know what Bill knows.
Most important of all, I can teach people how to live and what to do to please God. “My tongue shall speak of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteousness” (Psalm 119:172). Yes, I can talk of Jesus, telling people the old Jerusalem gospel in all of its power and grace (Matt 28:18-20; 2 Timothy 2:2). I can speak words that edify Christians, building them up to be better disciples (Ephesians 4:29). Solomon says “The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly” (Prov 15:2) and I hope Bill will be wise and use me for good purposes. I guess I am needed if Bill wants to whistle or blow a bubble with his chewing gum, but those are minor matters compared with the power to help men and women know God by what I say. All of that comes because long ago Bill’s Ears heard the Gospel and Heart and Will said we must yield to Jesus the Christ. That is when I did what the Ethiopian man did so long ago: I confessed that Bill believes Jesus is God’s Son (Acts 8:37; Romans 10:10; Phil 2:11). I can tell you that I said a lot of joyful words when we came up out of the waters of baptism that day!
Unfortunately, the tongue can say things it shouldn’t. Peter writes “For he who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit” (1 Peter 3:10). If the only trouble were lies I’d feel pretty good about things, but that is not the half of it! The truth is, I can do much evil beyond just deceiving people. I can gossip, curse, teach false doctrine and error, or just say mean things that hurt and discourage people. The Creator hates it when I am used in such a way (Prov 6:17, 19). James marveled that such an instrument of righteousness can also be used for such dark purposes (James 3:9-12), but so it is.
I don’t mean to pass the buck but the reality is that what I say is only a reflection of what Heart is thinking. So Jesus says in Matthew 12:34: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” If Heart is right then I’ll be fine; however, when Heart is full of darkness I cannot seem to speak anything good. Maybe the trouble is sometimes I get in too big a hurry and speak without really checking with Mind. That causes trouble every time! Solomon says, “Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Prov 29:20).
Ears are always reminding me that they must be twice as important as I am because there are two of them and Scripture says to slow me down and speed them up (James 1:19). That is true, but I still think I am a valuable part of Bill. You can see, however, that I need to be kept on a short leash. James says “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless” (James 1:26). This means that if Bill will keep me under control then someday I will hear God speak to Bill and say “Well done good and faithful servant.” Then I will give voice to Bill’s songs of rejoicing forever! For that to happen I need to speak good things now. I hope Bill will find something good for me to say today. What will you be using your tongue for today?