June 10th, 2020: Taming Our Tongues

 

A good friend of mine and I were talking yesterday morning and she talked about research on how some scientists think we can reduce the emissions from cattle by inventing some sort of device to cover their nose and mouth. Apparently, 90% of their emission of methane comes from burping and not at the other end (belching or flatulence). Here what Nasa Global Change says: "Contrary to common belief, it’s cow belching due to enteric fermentation. (“Enteric fermentation” is the digestive process of converting sugars into simple molecules for absorption into the bloodstream, which produces methane as a by-product.) However, a small percentage of methane is also produced in the cow’s large intestine and then expelled."

Surely my mind cannot rest there if I would like to have something meaningful to share with you today. When we think about this seriously, we humans have done more damage to one another with what comes out of our mouth than what comes out at our back end. We have seen unkind words trigger further violence, destroy hope, bring damnation, compromise trust, damage relationships. What happened during the past two weeks has revealed plenty of that to us. 

Why taming our tongue is such an important discipline?

It keeps us out of trouble. Have been you ever been in that situation? I have and it was not fun. (Proverbs 21:23)

Speech as a gift to be used to build others up and not to put them down. (Ephesians 4:29)

Harsh words stir up anger. (Proverbs 15:1)

Wise words promote healing. (Proverbs 12:18)

Sometimes silence is a sight of intelligence and awareness. (Proverbs 17:28)

Be careful and don't defile ourselves with our mouth. (Mathew 15: 11)

Gentle words manifest life. (Proverbs 15:4)

Words that demand destruction of others, deceit is the root cause. (Psalm 52:2)

Gracious words are a foundation of stability. (Colossians 4:6)

There are plenty more in the Bible about the godly and the ungodly uses of the tongue. Much turmoil and stress could be avoided in many levels of human relationships and in society as a whole if we can just learn how to do that better. Unkind speech simply reflects a lack of self-awareness. We cannot be men and women of hope if we are not self-aware. 

That doesn't mean that we cannot voice our convictions. It is always a challenge to have a healthy dialogue when we don't agree. The rush to conclude that "I hate you because I don't agree with you." according to some political correctness proponents is also shutting down the gift of reasoning in verbal communication. Telling people to shut up because we don't agree with them  destroys the beauty of our minds. Accusing people of hatred because they just happen to have different worldviews than ours is a serious violation of justice.

Now I am so glad that my friend brought up that fact about cattle.