Too Loud (Friday Devotional)

For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people, made in the likeness of God. 

- James 3:7-9

One of the realities of having three children 8 and under is that Lindsey and I periodically have to deal with tantrums. Yesterday was just such a time—our daughter was tired and hungry, she wasn’t getting her way, and she was making her displeasure known.

At one point in the back-and-forth, Lindsey told her she needed to stop yelling. Katherine protested that she wasn’t yelling—she was mad, but not screaming at the top of her lungs.

“You may not have been yelling as loudly as you can,” I responded, “but you definitely raised your voice. You were much louder than you needed to be.”

You’ve probably heard the old idiom, “actions speak louder than words,” a phrase that dates back to the 17^th century. It means that your deeds are more powerful than your words, that people pay more attention to what you do than what you say.

But especially in an age of mass communication, your words can still speak pretty loudly. That’s why the Bible talks about the importance of taming your tongue, a.k.a. watching your words. The same mouth that can bless people can also curse them, and the same voice that can lift people up can also tear them down.

What you say is a direct reflection on your walk with the Lord, just like what you do. And just as your witness for Jesus is affected by your actions, it is also colored by the things you say—whether in person or online, in public or in private, with a stranger or a friend.

Do actions still speak louder than words? Who can say. But this much is true: if you don’t tame your tongue, your words can wind up being a lot louder than they need to be.