The Untamed Tongue

“KNOWLEDGE IS A FRESH WIND WAITING TO BE BLOWN, OFTEN STOPPED BY THE UNTAMED TONGUE.” And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him (Matt. 4:18-22). Here we see an amazing example of communicating to people in a language they can understand as opposed to expecting people to understand our message as we present it. Jesus knows what kind of people are on the shore–fishermen. Therefore, He speaks to them as fishermen, not as future disciples. Imagine this: four guys are standing on the shore, you want them to be your disciples so you stroll up and tell them something like this: “Hey, I’m the Son of God, and I’m going to do great things on earth, so how about leaving your family, your money, your warm bed, and come hang out with me for a while. Then I’ll be beaten and killed, come back in three days, give you instructions, and send you out to spread the gospel and be persecuted and killed as well.” You wouldn’t be very successful at gathering disciples now, would you? Of course we know the Lord influenced their hearts, and it was more than a statement that brought these guys along, but that isn’t really Jesus’ point. His point was, ‘If you like fishing, how about going fishing with Me? We’ll catch men.’ Do we communicate to people in a language they can understand, or do we communicate with people in the language we understand? Maybe this will help: do you know people who talk all of the time, and it appears they just do it to hear themselves talk? Do you listen? If so, when you do, I would suggest it isn’t long before you tune them out. I had a second uncle who was by far the most intelligent human I have ever met. He was off the charts on his IQ score, and he knew something about everything; however, he literally never stopped talking. I used to wonder how and when he breathed; he would move from one subject to another without a break and seemed to be more robotic than human. The little dirty trick was when a new friend was visiting; we would introduce him to Wolford and walk away, leaving him in the grasp of Wolford’s well-exercised vocal cords, sometimes for hours on end. However, as I grew older, I began to understand what a terrible waste his intense knowledge had become. If only he had learned to communicate: his knowledge would have benefited others greatly, his reputation would have been honored rather than joked about, he would have been sought after rather than avoided, and his contribution to this world would have lived on. This was not the case; when he died, much of his knowledge died with him. Will your life be wasted because of your pride, arrogance, low self-esteem and insecurity, or are you able to watch and wait, seeking the right method and words before speaking your piece? MY PRAYER Father, help us to be people who draw others to us rather than people who others avoid. Give us ears to hear and eyes to see that we may affect the world around us for Your glory Lord. Amen.