[Article by Conejo member, Tammy Ditmore.]
One of my earliest memories is watching my parents at our kitchen table working on illustrations for my mother to use in her Sunday school class. My dad was not a great artist, but he could do a passable job on simple objects like these: a flame, a ship, a horse, and an open mouth.
Seeing my interest, my parents explained to me the relevant verses from James chapter 3 about the importance—and difficulty—of controlling the tongue. James describes the tongue as “a fire” and says this tiny muscle controls us just as a well-placed bit controls a powerful horse or a small rudder controls a mighty ship. If you can control your tongue, James says, you are well on your way to spiritual maturity.
I’m guessing this memory has stuck with me because I have always been interested in words and have worked with words professionally for most of my life. Although James writes about the “tongue,” I don’t think he is really worried about that muscle-bound organ. He’s worried about the words we let roll off our tongues—and from our pens and our phones and our keyboards. As an editor, I help writers choose just the right vocabulary to impart information or stoke emotions or inspire action, and I know how changing a word or two can fundamentally alter a message.
There’s a difference between describing someone as a “competitor” or an “enemy.” A difference between “foreign” and “alien.” A difference between “unwise” and “idiotic.” A difference between “fear” and “terror.” A difference between “persuading” and “encouraging.” A difference between “repair” and “restore.”
The words you choose—whether you launch them from your tongue, spread them across social media, or let them linger in your thoughts—affect how you assess a situation, respond in an argument, treat your neighbor.
Our culture encourages verbal flamethrowers and provides a ready supply of handy insults and ugly put-downs. But James is horrified by that idea. “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who have been made in God’s likeness,” he writes. “My brothers and sisters, this should not be” (James 3:9-10).
Taming the tongue is almost impossible, James writes. But a first step toward gaining control of our little flamethrower can be to control its fuel. Weed out hurtful and dehumanizing vocabulary; stockpile terms that encourage and inspire. Keep a supply of uplifting vocabulary refreshed and handy and you will be less likely to ignite a wildfire when you open your mouth or hit the send button.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)
Recent Comments