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March 17 Like Saint Patrick


The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out. ~Proverbs 10:31

The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse. ~Proverbs 10:32

The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.        All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. ~James 3:5-10

Well, I’m pretty sure that we all have to agree that James has it right here. Our tongues can be a blessing, but they can get us into a lot of trouble when we are not careful. In truth, however, the tongue is only the messenger that reveals what is truly in the heart. Jesus says: “The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a person unclean.” (Matthew 15:18) Therefore, the best  way to control the tongue is to control the thought life which comes from the heart. While we may be able to cut out the tongue so that we don’t have to listen to the words any more, cutting out the heart is another matter altogether. However, when we can change the heart, ah, that is the challenge, isn’t it?

Interestingly, being Saint Patrick’s Day, I thought that I could use the life of the man that we know as Saint Patrick as a good illustration of the battle of the tongue because he stands as an example of one who overcame the battle and used his tongue to bless when he would have had good reason to choose otherwise.

If you are not quite familiar with Patrick’s biography, you should know that he lived in the 4th century. As a youth, he was kidnapped from England and forced to be a slave in Ireland for about seven years. While he was there, he was introduced to Christ. He was also given   the opportunity to gain his freedom and he took it. While he was in Ireland, he saw firsthand the pagan practices that controlled the people with fear and mystery. When he returned to England, he prepared for the ministry. He was burdened with the knowledge of the oppression that held the Irish people captive and chose to return to Ireland, as a free man and minister of Christ to evangelize the people and free them from their fear filled lives. (Story here: St Patrick's history)

He could have chosen differently. Many would have considered him justified if he had chosen to curse the Irish people for their treatment of him. God, however, had changed his heart and he used his tongue to encourage the Irish people to change theirs as well.

James mentions the fire that can be set ablaze by a single spark. He was talking about how destructive we can be with our gossip and slander and he is right to do so. We’ve already talked about how gossip can ruin innocent people and destroy, even a congregation. However, it can work the other way as well. A spark can also set a blaze for Christ that can change a nation when we let it.

Kathy told me of a simple prayer that her maternal grandfather used to begin his day. Interestingly enough, Kathy never met this man, but it impressed her mother enough to pass this along to Kathy. It is simply the words to Psalm 41:3-4 which say: “Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil,” We would all do well to remember the power we have at our disposal, through our tongues, and pray that God will give us the wisdom to use that power well.

Prayer: Dear Lord, just as St. Patrick fearlessly went back to the cruel and dangerous people he had run away from, because of concern for their souls, may we also be concerned for lost souls even if we have to walk into "dangerous" territory to express Your love for them in our words and deeds to care for them. Keep my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking lies. Let my tongue be an instrument of Your peace and Grace and blessing.

Song: Christ Be Beside Me (This song is attributed to St. Patrick)

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