And turn back to the book of James. We're going to be continuing right where we left off last week.
In chapter 3, starting in verse 3.
As advertised by Nathan last week, I'll be continuing right where we left off, continuing this discussion that James is giving on controlling our tongues.
As many of you know, my firstborn just came into the world four weeks ago as of today.
So as you can imagine, I'm pretty tired.
So if I start to slur or whatever, I'm sorry.
But also because of that, last week I came here and I volunteered for band, which I probably shouldn't have.
Because I was pretty tired by the time the service came around.
So I was pretty much asleep during the whole sermon.
Not because it was boring. I was just that exhausted.
The only part I remember was Nathan saying, hint, hint, Zach.
So I remember it because it woke me up.
But I want to tell you now, I have no idea what that hint was.
But all joking aside, I did check with him.
And to be honest, it really wasn't much of a hint.
So I mean, I guess I could have just kept saying, I don't know.
But anyways, we'll be picking up in James chapter three, starting verse three through 12.
That's our text for this morning.
But I'm going to start by reading in verse one for continuity sake.
So James writes,
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers.
For you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
For we all stumble in many ways.
If anyone does not stumble in what he says,
he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us,
we guide their whole bodies as well.
Look at the ships also.
Though they are so large and are driven by strong winds,
they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
How great a fire is set ablaze by such a small fire.
And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.
The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body,
setting on fire the entire course of life and set on fire by hell.
For every kind of beast and bird of reptile and sea creature can be tamed
and has been tamed by mankind.
But no human being can tame the tongue.
It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
With it we bless our Lord and Father,
and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.
From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.
Brothers, these things ought not be so.
Does the spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?
Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs?
Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
So our outline today is not so much a series of points.
Today we're going to be looking at this text more so observationally.
So I have three observations.
I'm not entirely sure what the difference is there,
but this is two hours sleep brain thinking.
But three observations.
And the first one being the influence and power of the tongue.
The second one being the duality of the Christ proclaimer who does not control his tongue.
And third, the lack of a solution to controlling the tongue within ourselves.
So I'm going to repeat those later on as we work through this.
But just considering that first observation,
the influence and power of the tongue.
The influence and the power of the tongue.
So we're going to see this in verses 2 through 8.
So James gives us a few images to depict the influence and power of the tongue.
And the first is of a horse.
He says, if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us,
we guide their whole bodies.
In verse 3.
I don't know how many of you are familiar with horses.
I'm by no means an expert, but I've ridden two or three times in my life.
The bit is what you put in their mouth.
You control it with the reins.
You yank it to the right, they go right.
You yank it to the left, they go left.
Right?
You've probably seen it in a movie or something like that.
And so it's painful.
It's a process because the horse wants to direct itself.
It wants to do what it wants to do.
And an untamed horse will fight against your will ferociously.
He'll jump around and he'll try to buck you off.
He does not want to be controlled.
So this is an image the people of the first century world would know well.
And the second image is an image of a ship.
He writes in verse 4,
Look at the ships also.
Though they are so large and are driven by strong winds,
they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
Again, this image is very similar to our first image.
We have a ship, a large ship.
A ship that requires strong winds to be moved.
But what's amazing about this ship that's so large and needs such strong winds to be moved
is that neither of those things determine the direction of the ship.
The direction of the ship is determined by the smallest part of it, the rudder.
It's on the back end of a ship.
You turn it, sometimes with wheels, sometimes with a stick.
It tells you where you go.
So the tongue, of course, is meant to be read into this.
It's the bit.
It's the rudder.
That's what these images are depicting,
which is why he says in the first half of verse 5,
So also the tongue is a small member,
just like the rudder, just like the bit.
A small member, yet it boasts of great things.
So the tongue is one of the smallest members of our body,
yet it influences more of our life in its direction than any other part of the body.
That's not to say it's the controlling member, which we'll see momentarily,
but the tongue's influence is vast.
And picking back up in the second half of verse 5,
James writes,
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire.
An entire forest consumed by this fire, consumed by this tongue.
So the image here is of a kindling small fire,
a fire growing to consume a great or large forest.
So James is shifting from talking about the influence of the tongue,
and now he's talking about its power,
what it can accomplish or destroy in this case.
In the first two images,
the potential influence by the tongue is considerable,
given a small bit and a small rudder.
But now the power and its destructive capabilities.
It consumes this forest.
This forest is not going to bear fruit.
This forest is not going to provide shade.
This forest is not going to allow for materials like wood to be harvested.
There's no profit left in this forest
because it is utterly destroyed by the uncontrolled tongue.
Now, you might think this is an overreaction to the tongue on James' part.
At worst, it's just words, as some may say.
And James gets away from the similes that we've been reading in verses 3 through 5,
and in verse 6 states in plain and matter-of-fact language,
he says in verse 6,
And the tongue is a world of unrighteousness.
The tongue is set among our members.
It is staining the whole body.
It is setting on fire the entire course of life,
and it is set on fire by hell.
All right, so we're getting into the meat of it,
and there are three things here to consider.
So the tongue is a world of unrighteousness,
which is why it stains the whole body.
So recall from week 1,
I preached on James 1, verse 1 through 4,
and I talked at length about the importance of these words,
whole and perfect,
especially throughout the book of James.
And here, one of those words comes up again,
whole.
This means in entirety.
Not one aspect is left out.
And earlier in the book of James,
he tells us that we are given trial
so that we may become whole,
lacking in nothing.
But in our text today,
he is saying that by our tongues alone,
our wholeness or our entirety is stained and unrighteous.
So there's a tension in reading this.
There's some difficulty.
How does this all work out?
How does it equal zero, right?
How does this sum up?
And again, we'll come back to this tension in a moment.
But the second thing is that the tongue sets on fire
the entire course of life.
Here we see what the tongue destroys.
It destroys our very lives.
How many times have you spoken,
and it led to strife, anger, fights, quarrels, you name it.
And I can recall times in my life where I or others
have said things intentionally to hurt somebody.
So those are the easy ones to think of.
Like, oh yeah, I can see where that's possible.
But I am even more amazed at the number of times
I said something or somebody I know
has said something,
totally good intentions,
no ill will,
not even any kind of,
I don't know,
volatile language or anything like that.
And yet there was strife,
yet there was anger,
yet there was bitterness
that came up unintentionally or unintentionally.
But again, that image of a fire,
it's really perfect in capturing the tongue.
There it is.
And to be frank,
if you don't understand how destructive your tongue is,
how destructive it can be,
whether willfully or unwillfully,
it's only because you haven't paid attention
a day in your life.
I mean, almost every day,
I'm having to clarify something,
rehash something,
reiterate something,
repeat something,
redact something,
contrast.
And these are just some of the verbs
we have in our language
to describe the editing process.
So that gives you an idea
of just how often
we are having to go back,
to clear up,
to clarify.
And to inject all that back into James' imagery
is as if we are constantly trying
to put fires out,
caused by our own words.
Again, whether intentional or unintentional.
Not one aspect of our life
is unaffected by the words we say.
Not one.
And thirdly,
the source of the tongue's fire
is hell itself,
which we see at the end of verse 6.
And that's kind of a weird phrase,
isn't it?
You might think like me
when I first read it,
I thought,
well, God rules in hell.
He punishes the wicked in hell.
So is James saying,
our tongue is set on fire by God?
Like, that doesn't make sense.
Earlier he said,
no one can be tempted by God.
But the actual word here is Gehenna.
It's not hell,
it's Gehenna,
which is a real place in Israel.
Sometimes it's slang,
so to speak, for hell.
Sometimes people use that
as a word for that.
But oftentimes,
it just means plain old Gehenna.
And I think this is one of those cases.
And in the Jewish world,
Gehenna was a place
where trash was burnt,
which is why it often evoked hell
symbolically for the people.
But it also was a place
known for cultic worship
and became a symbol
of demonic activity
to the Jewish people.
throughout the Old Testament,
many Israelites who abandoned God
gave into worshiping the pagan god,
Moloch.
Worship of Moloch
typically included child sacrifice,
and Gehenna became a popular place
for such sacrifice.
In 2 Kings 16, 1-4,
we see King Ahaz,
king of Israel,
sacrifice his son to Moloch,
and it is assumed
that that happened in Gehenna.
And likewise,
King Manasseh soon after
was recorded as having done
much the same.
In 2 Kings 21, 6,
which says,
So notice all that
cultic, demonic activity.
The mediums,
the necromancers,
the fortune tellers,
the omens.
This worship of Moloch
and Gehenna
became such a recurring issue
that God pronounced judgment
on the people and the place.
in Jeremiah 7, 30-34,
by declaring that
in latter days,
Gehenna will be known
as the Valley of Slaughter
because he will use Babylon
to slaughter many Israelites
in that area.
So I say all that to say,
this is a well-known place
to your Jew in the first century.
They know this place.
It has well-established connotations.
Any Jew in James' time
would immediately think
of such things.
And this all relates
to James' argument
because he is saying
that the source
of our tongue's fire
is earthly,
it's demonic,
it's ungodly.
It's not of God.
It is the influence
of the world
and the demons
that work in it.
In other words,
it is evil.
Not only this,
but James is again
alluding to the sermon
on the mount.
in Matthew 5, 22,
Jesus is correcting
everyone's understanding
of the law
regarding murder,
a serious sin.
And Jesus says,
but I say to you
that everyone
who is angry
with his brother
will be liable
to judgment.
And catch this,
whoever insults
his brother
will be liable
to the council.
And whoever says,
i.e. the tongue,
whoever says,
you fool,
will be liable
to hell.
Or there's that word again,
Gehenna, right?
will be liable
to the hell of fire.
So there is
an implicit warning
in James' statement.
Essentially,
he's saying,
if you let your tongue
loose and consume
everything around you
by its fire,
then you too
will perish
by fire.
So to wrap up
the discussion
on the influence
and the power
of the tongue,
James makes
another argument.
He contrasts
controlling the tongue
with controlling
the wild animal kingdom.
And it's so interesting
what he says,
picking back up
in verse 7.
He says,
for every kind
of beast and bird,
of reptile and sea creature,
can be tamed
and has been tamed
by mankind.
He's referring to the garden
when Adam named
all the animals.
But he goes on,
but no human being
can tame the tongue.
It is a restless evil
full of deadly poison.
It takes a lot of work,
it takes a lot of skill,
it takes a lot of time,
but mankind can
and has tamed
all the animal kingdom,
according to James.
But the taming
of the tongue
is even harder,
so much so
that it is impossible
to tame the tongue.
As James says
at the outset
of our text,
which Nathan preached
last week,
if anyone does not stumble
in what he says,
he is a perfect man,
able also to bridle
his whole body.
Meaning,
if you can beat your tongue,
if you can control it perfectly,
there's no other temptation
that will take you over.
This is difficult.
If you beat the big baddie,
you can beat all the little baddies,
right?
That's kind of the idea here.
If you control the tongue,
you can control everything.
So that man would be perfect,
but that man,
James is implying,
does not exist
apart from Christ.
The tongue cannot be tamed,
and it is an unrelenting,
restless,
evil,
poisonous,
and leading to death.
So the tongue has
massive influence
and massive power.
The potential for damage
that a fully loose tongue
can inflict
is unimaginable.
And now,
James is going to continue
speaking about the tongue
and its dangers
with one last critique,
but there is a subtle shift
in what James is addressing.
He was addressing
the tongue itself,
as we have seen,
but now,
he's addressing
the one who professes
to be a Christian,
but whose tongue runs wild.
And we observe this
in verses 9 through 10,
which leads us
to the second observation,
observation number two,
the duality
of the Christ-proclaimer
who does not control
his tongue.
That's long,
so I'll repeat that.
The duality
of the Christ-proclaimer
who does not control
his tongue.
So, picking back up
in verse 9,
James says,
with it,
referring to the tongue,
with the tongue,
we bless our Lord
and Father.
We bless him.
Oh, that's nice.
And with it,
we curse people
who are made
in the likeness of God.
That sounds so nice.
And from the same mouth
come blessing
and cursing.
My brothers,
these things
ought not be so.
I've talked much
about the concept
of bless and blessing,
so I'll forego
explaining that in depth,
but suffice it to say,
James is saying
we wish well things
toward God
in a general sense,
right?
It's goodwill,
right,
towards God.
But the idea of cursing
I've not had a chance
yet to talk about.
So to us,
cursing,
it's kind of lost
its meaning
that it would have had
in the ancient world.
To us,
you know,
we think of like
witches turning
some princess
into a frog,
like,
oh,
cursed,
you know.
But in the ancient world,
cursing carried one idea.
It carried,
I want you to be
totally cut off
from God
in any and all blessing
and I want you
to be tormented
in hell for eternity.
It's the worst thing
you could possibly say
to somebody.
There's no greater threat,
there's no greater
expression of ill will.
So he's saying,
on the one hand,
you bless God,
but at the same time,
you curse his image bearers
to hell for eternity.
So it's serious.
This is not a light
thing to say.
So this person
that James is describing
wants to bless God
with his lips,
but he wants to curse
God's image bearers
to hell.
So what does he want?
Does he want to bless God
or does he want to curse people?
Like,
is that tension
with one another?
These are two
contrary things.
So these people
that James describes
are hypocrites
in the full sense
of the word.
And when you really
consider the kind
of person
that James is describing,
this person seems crazy.
Or in James' words,
he would call this person
double-minded.
The double-minded man
is a concept
that James deals with
throughout his letter.
And we saw this already
in James 1.8
where the double-minded man
is one who doubts God.
He tries to live
for both God
and the world
and is, quote,
unstable in all his ways.
We're going to see
the double-minded man
again in a couple weeks
in James 4.8.
James brings up
the double-minded man
again
and it becomes
abundantly clear
that only false believers
are double-minded.
He's not addressing
weak Christians
in our passage today
but warning his brothers
of false Christians.
This man is double-minded
in our passage
that he's describing.
He wants to bless God
but curse God's image.
And if you recall
Christ's teaching
from the Gospel of Luke,
chapter 6, verse 28,
Jesus commanded
his disciples,
bless those
who curse you.
Pray for those
who abuse you.
So the man
with the uncontrolled tongue
in James
is not even cursing
those who curse him.
He's just cursing people
seemingly arbitrarily.
Definitely not
a believer.
And as James says
in verse 10,
my brothers,
he's shifting address,
my brothers,
these things
ought not be so.
How can they be so?
I thought James said
it was impossible.
So the tension
that I mentioned
a while ago,
it's here again
and I promise
we will resolve
that tension in a moment.
James is building it
a little longer
and so we're compelled
to do the same.
And so one final
stab at it
with our third
and final observation
this morning.
There is no solution
to controlling
the tongue
within ourselves.
Observation number three,
there is no solution
to controlling
the tongue
within ourselves.
So let's look
at the imagery here
in verses 11 through 12.
James continues on,
does a spring
pour forth
from the same opening
both fresh
and salt water?
Can a fig tree,
my brothers,
bare olives
or a grapevine
produce figs?
Neither can a salt pond
yield
fresh
water.
So in case anyone
is wondering
the answer
to these questions
that James asked,
the answers are
no,
and no.
It's all impossible.
Essentially,
James asks on repeat,
can good things
produce bad things
or can bad things
produce good things?
And this is another
allusion to the
Sermon on the Mount.
And if you're still
questioning the idea
that James is addressing
false believers
in our text,
this quotation
from Jesus
that I think
James is alluding
to furthers
the point.
So Matthew 7,
verse 15 through 20,
Jesus says,
beware of
false prophets.
False prophets
who come to you
in sheep's clothing
but inwardly
are ravenous wolves.
These are
false believers
pretending to be
in the church.
And Jesus goes on,
you will recognize them
by their fruits.
Are grapes gathered
from thorn bushes
or figs from thistles?
So Jesus
is essentially asking
the same questions
that James has asked.
He's making the same
kind of argument
for the same
kind of purpose.
And he continues,
so every healthy tree
bears good fruit
but the diseased tree
bears bad fruit.
A healthy tree
cannot bear bad fruit
nor can a diseased tree
bear good fruit.
Every tree
that does not
bear good fruit
is cut down
and thrown
into the fire.
Thus you will
recognize them
by their fruits.
So James'
allusion to
Jesus' teaching
in the Sermon on the Mount
is to reinforce
the point
that these are
false believers
who have a much
bigger problem
than merely
their tongue.
The issue
for them,
for all of us
apart from Christ,
the issue
is their heart.
Later on
in Matthew's Gospel
Jesus picks up
this topic again
and says to false
teachers in Matthew
12 verse 33
to 34
he says
either make
the tree
good
and its fruit
good
or make
the tree
bad
and its fruit
bad
for the tree
is known
by its fruit.
You brood of vipers
how can you speak
good
when you are evil?
And here it is
for out of the
abundance
of the heart
the mouth
speaks.
So the mouth
the tongue
as uncontrolled
as it is
as great of a fire
as it is
as consuming
as it is
it's really
just revealing
our hearts.
This is what
James is getting
at with his
rhetorical questions
he is saying
these double-minded
men
are salt ponds
and that is
why their water
is not good
for drinking
it is why
their words
are full
of poison
he is saying
they lack
faith
which means
their heart
is unaffected
had they
true faith
saving
faith
it would show
in their works
according to
James
in chapter 2
verse 18
had they
true saving
faith
we know
from James 1
5 through 8
that they would
ask God
for wisdom
and for restraint
in controlling
their tongues
but they don't
because he addressed
this
the double-minded
man doesn't
ask
by faith
now perhaps
you're beginning
to see
that James
is addressing
unbelievers
and their
double life
but you're probably
really wondering
what does this
have to do
with me
what is this
text
how is this
profitable
for the church
today
well at the very
least we can say
that this serves
as a good warning
of how to discern
true believers
from false believers
as well as
false teachers
from true teachers
bringing us back
to verse 1
right
not many of you
should become
teachers my brothers
so this text
should always serve
as a discerning
guide
in these matters
but also
the serious
righteousness
and weight
with which
James speaks
to controlling
our tongues
ought to grab
our attention
we are reminded
that apart from
Christ we can
do nothing
good
apart from
Christ
we cannot
control
or even
restrain
our lips
in the slightest
and so it
becomes
all the more
imperative
that we have
a healthy
habitual
and regular
prayer life
in which we
confess
our sins
to God
and ask
for help
and wisdom
there will be
more on the
wisdom piece
next week
hint and
sack
I think
yeah
we need to
put aside
all double
talk
and double
living
again our
lives are
meant to
be given
wholly
and completely
to God
right
don't curse
God's image
bearers
while professing
love for
Christ
it's an
oxymoron
right
we need
to put
aside
all
double
talk
we are
able
to do
this
because
Christ
now
lives
in us
who by
grace
through faith
have
been
saved
we are
without
excuse
and we
have
every
possible
means
at our
disposal
to resist
sin
and
the
devil
yet
we will
inevitably
fail
at times
until
God's
sanctifying
work
is
finished
so there's
that
tension
right
we're
never
going to
fully
control
our
tongues
in this
life
we're
never
going to
fully
arrive
in this
life
but
a
general
pattern
as we've
been
talking
about
throughout
the book
of James
we're
going to
be
growing
more and
more
looking
like
Christ
representing
Christ
acting
like
Christ
though
failing
and for
our
failures
of course
we are
atoned
for
and
covered
by
Christ
so that
tension
is resolved
it's
it finds
its
relief
in
Christ
and
Christ
alone
yes
we'll
still
say
stupid
things
intentionally
and
unintentionally
but
by
grace
we
will
learn
to
restrain
our
lips
more
and
more
to
speak
holy
words
for
a
holy
God
now
before
we get
to our
closing
applications
I want
to read
this
passage
from
Romans
7
verses
4
through
6
you can
turn
there
if
you
want
it'll
be
quick
but
in
this
text
Paul
is
addressing
us
as
believers
post
salvation
right
this text
speaks
to our
present
reality
with our
sinful
nature
and with
the
holy
spirit
at work
in us
and
again
when you
read this
at first
you might
be tempted
to see
that same
tension
that we've
felt
in our
text
for today
but
Paul
seems to
think
of this
as
freedom
and I
think
if you
really
look closely
at what
he's
saying
you'll
see
that
and
you'll
feel
that
so
Paul
writes
in
Romans
7
verses
4
through
6
he
says
likewise
my
brothers
you
also
have
died
to the
law
through
the
body
of
Christ
so
that
you
may
belong
to
one
another
to
him
who
has
been
raised
from
the
dead
in
order
that
we
may
bear
fruit
for
God
for
while
we
were
living
in
the
flesh
that's
a lot
of
W's
for
while
we
were
living
in
the
flesh
our
sinful
passions
aroused
by
the
law
were
at
work
in
our
members
to
bear
fruit
for
death
but
now
we
are
released
from
the
law
having
died
to
that
which
held
us
captive
so
that
we
serve
in
the
new
way
of
the
spirit
and
not
in
the
old
way
of
the
written
code
we
are
free
indeed
to
serve
in
the
new
way
of
the
!
by
restraining
!
our lips
application
number
one
speak
sparingly
which is
a nice
way of
saying
as I
would
hear
in my
house
often
shut
up
in
love
but
I'd
hear
it
so
this
is
a
general
rule
of
thumb
right
obviously
there
will
be
times
when
you
speak
more
but
generally
it's
better
to
just
not
speak
if
you
don't
have
to
restrain
your
lips
which
is
them
from
our
text
today
you're
playing
with
fire
every
time
you
talk
right
so
you
want
to
be
careful
to
speak
sparingly
in
fact
Proverbs
10
19
says
as
much
Solomon
wrote
when
words
are
many
so
when
you
speak
a
lot
when
words
are
many
transgression
or
sin
is
not
lacking
but
whoever
restrains
his
lips
is
prudent
or
wise
so
I
found
that
this
is
especially
true
when
I
am
surrounded
by
strangers
or
people
who
do
not
know
me
as
well
you
can
say
things
around
your
friends
and
family
where
they
know
what
you
are
and
what
you
are
not
saying
oh my
gosh
I
revealing
a
heart
that
is
in
submission
to
God
or
am
I
revealing
things
that
aren't
in
submission
and
how
can
I
correct
those
things
right
by
repentance
and
faith
so
again
restrain
your
lips
speak
sparingly
application
number
two
assume
the
best
in
one
another
so
two
reasons
to
assume
the
best
in
one
another
first
because
communication
is
tough
as
James
has
made
abundantly
clear
in our
text
today
so
even
though
it
was
unintentional
sometimes
something
is said
poorly
sometimes
something
is
heard
poorly
either
way
allow
time
and
space
for
someone
to
say
what
they
need
to
say
and
think
carefully
over
what
they
mean
and
don't
mean
and
I'll
throw
some
advice
in
from
James
as a
bonus
he says
in
James
119
be
quick
to
hear
slow
to
speak
slow
to
anger
for
the
anger
of man
does
not
produce
the
righteousness
of
God
the
other
reason
we
are
to
assume
the
best
in
one
another
because
we
are
commanded
to
Paul
says
in
1st
Corinthians
13
7
love
bears
all
things
believes
all
things
hopes
all
things
endures
all
things
he's
writing
to a
church
that
has
an
issue
with
unity
so
in
context
he's
saying
here
that
we
should
hope
and
believe
in
the
best
of
those
whom
we
love
who are
we
are
called
to
love
everybody
but
especially
our
fellow
believers
so
if
somebody
ever
says
something
that
hits
you
the
wrong
way
or
maybe
you
misheard
or
maybe
it
could
be
read
a
certain
way
that's
not
so
loving
or
positive
rather
than
jumping
to
anger
and
assumption
assume
the
best
about
that
brother
and
address
them
over
it
seek
clarification
or
even
better
just
let
it
go
right
don't
worry
about
what
James
is
saying
is
true
that
means
when
we're
out
in
the
hallway
talking
with
each
other
there's
fire
all
over
the
place
intentional
unintentional
we need
to be
careful
there's
going to
be
things
you hear
that
offend
you
that
weren't
meant
to
offend
you
will
be
miserable
your
whole
life
if
you
let
everything
said
and
done
that
offends
you
occupy
your
thoughts
your
energy
and
your
time
in
fact
let
me
make
this
simple
for
everyone
the
world
already
hates
you
because
you're
a
Christ
follower
so
you
don't
have
to
worry
about
whether
or not
they
want
to
offend
you
they'll
do
it
you
don't
have
to
question
it
so
you
can
just
well
you know
as the old saying
goes
get over it
but
you know
but you
can get
past it
you don't
have to
let
these
things
define
you
occupy
your
space
you don't
need
to
worry
and
boil
over
it
and
again
proverbs
speaks
to
this
proverbs
10
or
excuse
me
19
11
solomon
writes
good
sense
all right
good
sense
i like
to use
the term
common
sense
right
good
sense
makes
one
slow
to
anger
and
it
is
glory
it
is
his
glory
to
overlook
an
offense
it's
to
your
glory
that
you
overlook
an
offense
besides
it
is
usually
about
you
and
not
about
!
God
when
you're
offended
if
we're
all
being
honest
you
want
people
to
worship
you
the
way
you
do
that's
usually
why
you're
offended
it's
not
because
he
just
offended
an
image
bearer
it's
no
it's
he
offended
me
because
I'm
5'8
or
whatever
throw it
in there
that's
not
something
to
boil
over
about
the
difference
is
when
it
is
about
God
it
leads
you
to
concern
for
the
person
rather
than
anger
directed
at
that
person
when
you
really
recognize
wow
this
person
saying
hateful
things
to
me
because
they
are
currently
separated
from
Christ
that
doesn't
lead
you
to
be
angry
and
curse
them
that
leads
you
to
pray
for
them
and
again
that
leads
us
to
our
fourth
and
final
application
pray
that
God
would
guard
your
mouth
David
prayed
this
because
he
understood
just
as
our
text
has
taught
us
that
there
is
nothing
in
him
that
can
teach
him
or
enable
him
to
restrain
his
tongue
God
alone
can
sanctify
us
in
that
way
he
prays
in
Psalm
141
verse
3
David
cries
out
to
God
set
a
guard
oh
Lord
over
my
mouth
keep
watch
over
the
door
of
my
lips
which
is
a
way
of
saying
keep
it
shut
we
are
entirely
at
the
mercy
of
God
for
his
work
in
our
life
that
our
lips
would
be
restrained
it's
impossible
for
us
to
restrain
them
in
and
of
ourselves
unless
evil
speech
and
thoughtless
speech
should
not
be
named
among
us
it
ought
not
be
so
but
we
can
pray
to
a
loving
merciful
and
sanctifying
God
whose
will
is
for
us
to
restrain
our
lips
so
therefore
we
can
go
with
confidence
to
him
knowing
that
he
will
answer
this
prayer
because
it
is
his
will
so
let's
go to
him
now
closing
in
prayer