The Bible specifically gives instruc-

tion on how the tongue is and is not

supposed to be used. Itisveryimponant
to think before one speal{$. Many stu-
dents, even in Chlistian schools have
problems, because they make improper
use of their tongue. Whether it be pro-
limity, slander, disrespect, or lying, they
all play their role in destroying Chlist's
temple, wbich consists of His people.
Profanity is a big problem, because it
is so easy [0 get away with and to do.
Profanity is present in most teenagers'
vocabularies today. Many Christian
young people use profanity as though it
is acceptable in living the Christian life.
Profanity is so often used because many
teenagers who believe they are Chlis-
tians have little or no idea that God'
specifically forbids all such vulgar or
improper speech. If they do know that
profanity is not allowed in the Christian
vocabulary, they overlook their sin and
leave any guilt behind. The problem is
that profanity is so accepted with teen-
agers . They do not care whether it is
Wt"ongorright; theywant to feelaccepted
in a sodal group and that is all tlley care
about. If profanity was not cool," there
would be less use ofit. Because profanity
is not acceptable to most parents and
adults, teenagers use profanity to show
their rebellion. That is exactly what
profanity is, a blatant and ovett rebellion
against not just parents, but God Him-
self. Those who call themselves Chlis-
tians and use profanity, greatly offerid
the very God who gave them life and
bringshame to Hisname. In Daniel 3:29 ,
Nebuchadnezzar says, "Therefore, I make
a decree that any people, nation or tongue
dlat speaks anything offensive against the
God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego
shall be tomlimbfrom limb and their houses
reduced to a rubbish heap. " God does not
take lightly the fact that people, especially
Hischildren who Imow better, blaspheme
and profane his name. Proverbs 15:3
tellsus that "the eyes of the Lordare in every
place, watching the evil and dIe good." He
sees those that shame Hisname, and they
. will not go unpUnished. If a person hears
someone shaming our Lord, they should
take it upon themselves to ask the of-
fender, in a humble and loving way, not
to shame Jesus by using profanity. One
way in which this will help a Christian is
thattheywillnot have to listen to another's
profanity, therefore helping them not to
grow accustomed to the bad habit. Sec-
ondly, one will have a better chance to
growdoserto Godinhis fellowship with
others. It is velY hard to break a bad
habit, but Phillipians4: 13 tells us that we
"can do all things through QlIist who
strengthens" us.
Another vety big problem at school,
probably the biggest, is the way in which
students slander each other. It is most
aggravating to walk into a room, see little
groups of whispering people, and know
that they are gossiping. Why not tell
evetybody in the room and get it over
with? Everyone is going to find out about
it by the end of the day anyway. Even
worse than seeing the wbisperingis hear-
ing what is actually said. One of the most
frustrating things is to hear a group of
students saying, "Did you see SUzie Q's
hair onpicrure day? It looked positively
horrendous." or "Did you know that
so-and -so wets his bed?" as though all of
this infOlmation is necessaty to everyday
life. Is this upli fting and edifying? The
Bible has so much to say about this
degrading gossip. James 3:5-12 explains
what effects improper use of the tongue
can have on a person's own life as well as
other's lives:
"So also the tongue is a smaIl part of the
body, and yet And the tongue is a fire, the
velY world oj iniquity; the tongue is set
anwng our members as that which defiles
the entire body, and sets on fire the course of
our life, and is on fire by hell. For every
species of beasts and birds, of and
creatures of the sea is tamed by the human
race. But no one can tame the tongue; Uis a
evil andfuIl of deadly poison. With it
we bless our Lord and Father; and with itwe
curse men, who have been made in the
likeness of God;from the same maudl come
bodl blessing and cursing. My brethren,
these things ought not to be this way. Does a
fountain out from the same opening
both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree,
my bredlren, produce olives, or a vine pro-
duce figs? NeiUler can salt water produce
fresh." James is amazed that slanderous
gossip can come out of the same mouth
that praises Jehovah. A Chlistian's goal
in life is to glorify and honor God. How
can we say we are honOring Him when
we defile and cut down the beings He has
created in His image? The answer is, we
cannot! If only the srudents would real-
ize how imponant it is to control the
habit of gOssiping while they are young,
then when they get older they will not
have as hard of a time with the problem.
InJohn Calvin's commentary onJames
he writes: "When he Games) says that it
(the tongue) is set on fire by hell, it is the
September, 1992 l' THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t- 25
'Same as though he had said, that the
outrageousnessofthetongueis the flame
of the infernal fire, For as heathen poets
imagined that the wicked are tonnented
by the torches of the Furies: so it is true,
that Satan by the fans of temptations
kindles the fire of ali evils in the world:
butJamesmeans, that lire, sentbySatan,
is most easily caught by the tongue, so
that it immediately burns; in shon, that
it is a material fitted receiving. fostering,
and increasing the fire of bell" (Calvin's
Commentaries XXII. page 321 ).
HereCalvindescnbeshowthetongue
is a material worthy of damnation in the
fires of hell. The tongue is only a small
pan of the body and yet it by itself can
catch the fire thatSatansends. Therefore,
controlling the tongue is so impottant in
the Christian life. If one cannot control
his tongue people will never trust him
and he will not have a good reputation.
God does not want gossips as represen-
tatives of His kingdom. If a Christian
encounteISsomeone who is going to talk
about someone else, he should defend
the victim of gossip and tell the gossip
that he is not glorifying God. Put one's
selfin the shoes of the victim. Slandering
is no way to earn friends. God will honor
those who revere His creation. Do not
succumb to the ways of the unrighteous.
Avoid all appearances of evil and stay
away from those who slander.
Disrespectfulness to teachers and
other adults is another good example of
. hownot to Use' one's tongUe. It is so easy
to sman off to a teacher when she is not
listening ormay be occupied with some-
one else in the classroom. Disrespect is
another form of outtight rebellion. Stu-
dents are not aware of how prevalent
disrespect in the classtoom can be. They
seem to have no desire to change their
way and, more often than not they blame
theirsinon theteacherbecausetheteacher
provoked them. Of course, it is always
the teachers fault. The stUdents are al-
ways rightlln the Old Te&ament young
people were punished severely if they
had disrespect for authority. This proves
how much the culture we live in today
has digressed from the high morality
level of the past. It is so easy to spout off
anger and bitternesstowardsanadult. As
Christians, is this the Godly responSe?
James 3:5 states that " ... ifwe put the bits
into thehorses'mouthsso thattheymayobey
us, we direct their entire bo4Y as well. "This
verse, applied in a Christian's life, says
that ifwe bridle ourtol)gue, we can have
control over the rest of our body as well.'
If an individual hears another individual
talk to a teacher disrespectfully, that
individual should not laugh at their dis-
respect. He should insteitd help put the
"bit" in their mouth by telling them that
disrespectisnotacceptableandthatGod
does not want mockers trying to further
His kingdom,
Lying,anothersinfuluseofthetongue,
issomethingthatoccurseveryday. Lying
is probably the easiestway to sin with the
tongue. Once a person statts lying about
one thing, he usually must lie about
other things. Before he knows it, the lie
becomes a bigger lie than he expected.
People seriously think that a small fib is
nO( as bad as a renous lie. If one thinks
about it, one will realize that a SIJlall fib
can build, making one more accustomed
to fibbing. Then, one continues and statts
doing some serious lying, causing a ca-
tastrophe. All lies are considered the
same. Whetherit bea biglieorasmallfib,
they are alilies, The Bible says: "There are
six things which the Lord hares, yes, seven
which are an abomination to Him: haughry
eyes, a !}>ing tongue, and hands that shed
innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked
plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false
witness who utters lies, and one \WID causes
strf[eamongbrothers"(Proverbs6:I6-I9).
It is impottant to note that the writer
of Proverbs emphasizes that ali these
things are an abomination to God. Also,
there are two instances that mention the
tongue, seeming to indicate that wise use
of the tongue is very imponanr If a
Christian finds himself continually lying
or even ouly lying sometimes, he should
repent and ask forgiveness. Repentance
26 f TIlE COUNSEL of Cbalc:edon f September, 1992
means apologizing to the offended and
trying never to do it again. God will help
those who honesdy try to live in accor-
dance with his laws and corirrnands.
The tongue is not entirely bad. After
all, God did give it to us for a reason, but
we must be careful how we use it. The
tongue can be used to prqise God. In the
Psalms David exclaims . rcried to Him .
with my mouth, and He was extolled with
my tongue." (66: 17) We can also sing
praises with our tongUe. "Let my tongue
singofthyword,forall thy commandments
are righteousness' (Psalm 119:172).
Throughout the ages, the tongue has
been used to influence and change the
lives of people.
The only way the smdent body can
control the use of its tongue is to look to
God for guidance and have confidence
that He will change stUdent's hearts
through prayer and diligent efforts on
their pan to control their own tongues.
When you control your own tongue,
you set an example for others to follow.
We need the kind ofleadership that will
stand' up and fight the battles against
profanity, slander, disrespect, and lying,
GodwantsHispeopletoleadandfightor
get off the battle field, If we stand against
the sins of the tongue, the Bible says that
our mooth of righteOusness will flow
with wisdom, and we can rejoice be-
cause it says that the pervened tongue
will be cut out (Prov:lO:3l). We are
fighting Satan's army. We battle the
temptationS of the tongue. Do. not get
caught in the midst of the fighting with-
out one's sword. The Bible is the sword,
so use it. Purify the church by bridling
the tongue so that we can more readily
conquer this world and take dominion
over it. Pray that by God's strength we
may bridle our own tongues and Stand
up for what we !mow is right.n
Christa Minkoff, a smdent at Chalce-
don Chtistian School and daughter of
Mike and Debbie Minkoff ,won the top
prize offered by Triumphant Publica-
tions in a receilt contest with this article.