Taming a Wild Beast

It was a frosty November morning in central Indiana. My wife and I had purchased an 1850’s, hand-hewn, square-log cabin. The logs were 18 inches thick and were beautiful in character and stature. It sat atop a hill in a heavily wooded patch of ground near Nashville, Indiana; the Carmel California of the Midwest.

The home had a lot of history associated with it so we had to walk through a series of historic home covenants to do the remodeling we desired. One of the improvements was a central wood burning furnace. It was “the thing” to do in Nashville and seemed logical to me. Imagine heating your home for free! The house came with over three acres of oak trees.

It seemed like a good idea until this particular day in November when I thought my lungs were going to burst from the effort involved in securing my free wood. My free heat source had already cost me $500 for the newest and best chainsaw, $60 for a peavey to roll the logs, $100 for a splitting maul, axe, and appropriate wedges, $600 for a beat-up truck to haul the wood, and the list goes on. Probably the most expensive part of harvesting the wood was the weekly visit to the chiropractor. After stacking each cord of wood, it seemed the visits became more frequent.

By the end of the winter I had cut, split and stacked 14 cords of wood, burning nearly all of it. If you are unfamiliar with firewood measurements, a cord is a stack of wood 4 feet wide by 4 feet high by 8 feet long ….a lot of wood! I did that 14 times. Suffice it to say I now use a gas furnace. In fact, I love gas furnaces. Well, if the truth were to be known, I strongly dislike wood-burning furnaces….not the furnace itself, but the process involved in loading it with fuel. It’s a little like keeping the furnace stoked on a steam engine; whether coal or wood, it’s a hard, strenuous, and dirty job.

I learned a lot about wood that winter, and about the tools used to cut it. The pride of my tool stash was my axe. It was beautiful. I kept it razor sharp so that it would cut cleanly through the wood in as little time, and with as little effort as possible. It was a great tool. What was created for good however, could be used for evil. Laying in a drawer next to the stove in our home is an absolutely beautiful chopping knife. It is perfectly balanced and sharp making short work of a head of cabbage or a bag of carrots. It is a tool, well designed for its intended purpose, yet, it could also be used for evil.

I grew up hunting. The days I walked beside my father hunting birds with a shotgun are some of my best memories. I loved the one-on-one time with him and I loved getting outdoors. The guns we carried were beautiful, perfectly suited to the activities we engaged in…yet, they could be used to bring harm to others.

We each carry a tool designed by God and given to us by him. It is our tongue. Our tongue is perfectly suited to speak life into ourselves and other people. It is designed specifically to utter praises in word and song to our Creator and source of life. As God’s most remarkable creation, we are formed in his image; not for ourselves, or our own pleasure, or our own pursuit, rather we were formed to accomplish his purposes and to enjoy him forever. We are marked with majesty, and in Jesus Christ, have the hope of an amazing future with the King of Kings. We are royalty!

Yet, our tongues, intended for good, are often used as an instrument of destruction. The process is no different than using an axe, or knife or gun to bring harm to others. We conceive a plan - a self-centered plan - we birth it in our minds, we seal it in our hearts, and we carry it out through our tongue. The words we speak are more powerful than all the weapons created by men. The weapons of men can take our life, yet our words can fracture our very being, our image in Christ, and our peace.

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. (James 3:3-5)

Proceed with caution dear ones. Walk in humility, the humility of Christ. Guard your tongue being careful to honor God in all you do and say. I love the heart of David and his wisdom. Though imperfect, he had a heart for God. In Psalm 37:30 he states, “The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, their tongues utter what is just.” And again in Psalm 39:1 he says, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.”

We each will stand before God the King one day. My earnest desire is to hear the words, “Well done good and faithful servant.” Amen!
Shannon

James 3:7-12
7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.