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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
Yet another reason for being slow to speak is revealed in Proverbs 10:19, “ In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.” Too much talk inevitably leads to sin, and we would do well to take the position of the Psalmist: “I said, I w ill take heed to my ways, that 11 sin not with my tongue” (Psa. 39:1). It is very significant that when Isaiah had his wonderful vision of the Lord, t waieh vision revealed to him his sinful ness, the only sin which he mentioned was that of “ unclean lips,” applying this both to himself and to the people among whom he dwelt. And when the seraphim took the live coal in his hand he placed it upon Isaiah’s mouth saying, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged” (Isa. 6:7). Sins of the Tongue Let us study some of the sins of the tongue. We are all aware of the fact that taking the name of~the Lord in vain is a sin, but unfortunately we are inclined to confine this to “profan ity,” But without doubt, many a real Christian has many times taken His name in vain by using it in a careless, meaningless way. We should be on our guard at this point. An altogether too common sin is that of “lying.” When we say, “too com mon,” we are referring more especially to this being the case among Christian people. I am sure we would all be greatly shocked by the aggregate of lies spoken by believers in a single day. The Epistle to the Ephesians is commonly thought of as giving us the high water mark in Christian experi ence, and even here we have the ex hortation: “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor” (Eph. 4:25). If there had been no need for this exhortation among the saints at Ephesus, the in spired Apostle would not have ut tered it. "To the saints and faithful breth ren in Christ which are at Colosse,” the inspired Apostle wrote: “Lie not one to another” (Col. 1:2; 3:9). “L y ing lips are abomination to the Lord” (Prov. 12:22), whether they are the lips of an unsaved or a saved person. From John 8:44 we learn that- the devil is the father of lies, so that when one is guilty of this sin, he is for the time being, at least, in close league with the devil. The Spirit-filled Peter said to Ananias, “Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?” (Acts 5:3). There are many who feel that under certain circumstances a lie is justi fiable. We know that this has been debated down through the ages, and that a fu ll treatment of the subject
would take many articles as long as this one. But let me say that I be lieve that under no circumstances is a lie justifiable, for the following rea sons: First, lying “ destroys the bond of so ciety, which bond is confidence.” If a person holds that there are conditions under which a lie is justifiable, how can one tell whether he is telling a lie or the truth at any one given time? Just follow this thought through and see where it leads you. In the second place, we hold it is unjustifiable be cause it is inconsistent with the char acter of God—God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. In Titus 1:2 we read, “ God, that cannot lie,” and what He cannot do, He does not jus tify another in doing. With reference to God the Son, we quote G. Campbell Morgan: “He who said, ‘I am . . . the truth’ never made peace with a lie.” The Holy Spirit is called “ the Spirit of truth” in John 16:13. In the light of these statements con cerning the Trinity, are we not justi fied in declaring that one who lies is not being prompted by God? Another sin altogether too common among God’s people is that of tale bearing. This sin is specifically for bidden in the Word of God. “Thou shalt not raise a false report” (Ex. 23:1). It is significant that the Re vised Version says, “ Thou shalt not take up a false report.” Again, the sin is forbidden in the words of Leviti cus 19:16: “Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy peo ple.” It is utterly impossible for us to conceive of the amount of trouble and sorrow in the world today because of talebearers. And this, alas, is not con fined to unbelievers. In this regard we should indeed be “ slow to speak.” Everyone of us would do well to use the tests of “Three Gates,” given by L. L. Boyd: If you are tempted to reveal A tale someone to you has told About another, make It pass, Before you speak, three gates of gold. Three narrow gates—First, “Is it true?" Then “ Is it needful?" In your mind Give truthful answer. And the next Is last and narrowest, “ Is it kind?" And if, to reach your lips at last, It passes through these gate ways three, Then you may tell the tale, nor fear What the result of speech may be.
We should be slow to speak in criti cism. There are two kinds of criti cism: One is constructive and helpful. Of course, it is not to this that we are referring now, but rather to the cen sorious type, which is usually uttered behind a person’s back. It takes few brains and no race to criticize in this way. We should be slow to criticize because we do not understand all the circumstances. The words of Proverbs 18:13 are very much to the point in this connection: “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” Our Lord said, “If ye had known . . . ye Would not have condemned the guiltless.” We should be slow to criticize because we may be criticizing that which the Lord blesses. This is illustrated in the case of Judas’ criticism of Mary’s unselfish act in anointing the Lord (John 12 : 1 - 8 ). There are other reasons for being slow to speak, but let us now turn to the practical question as to how to avoid the wrong use of our tongues. What to Do There must be purpose and watch fulness. The Psalmist said, “I am pur posed that my mouth shall not trans gress” (Psa. 17:3). And again he said, “ I w ill take heed to my ways that I sin not with my tongue” (Psa. 39:1). Then there must be definite prayer with regard to this matter, realizing our own helplessness to always use our tongues aright. “The tongue can no man tame” (Jas. 3:8). But thank God, He can! We may well pray in the words of Psalm 19:14, “Let the words of my mouth, and the medita tion of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my re deemer.” “O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise” (Psa. 51:15). “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips” (Psa. 141:3). Alex ander Maclaren’s rendering of the last clause of this verse is significant: “ Keep guard over the door of my lips.” Probably the most important thing is to have our hearts right, for our Lord said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matt. 12:34). The wrong use of the tongue is a symptom of a serious disease— heart disease, the only cure for which is obedience to the injunction, “ Sancti fy in your hearts Christ as Lord” (1 Pet. 3:15, R.V.). Our words reveal whether self and sin are enthroned in the heart, or Christ and love. God’s Word says that “ death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Prov. 18:21). Let us therefore heed the in junction “ be slow to speak,” and pray that our tongues may be used by Him as a means of life.
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