SPEECH, SAILBOATS & THE BIBLE
Like most others right now, I occasionally find myself drifting over to my computer and pulling up Youtube to watch a “few videos”. I’m sure you can relate. There seems to be an infinite amount of things to watch on Youtube these days, and I’ve been enjoying one particular set of videos more than any other. If you type ‘sailing’ into the search bar you’ll have lots of videos come up, but one that I came across recently was of a guy choosing to take his twenty-three foot sailboat from Los Angeles to Hawaii… Solo! That’s right, by himself, on a boat, for the better part of 2 weeks. All. Alone.
What if he fell over board during a squall? What if something broke that he couldn’t fix and ended up stranded? What if he ran out of food? What if his electronic GPS failed and he couldn’t navigate back to shore? So many questions. I was partly taken back by his demeanor, he seemed calm regardless of all the ‘what if’ questions firing in my head. Little did I know, he had a secret that kept him confident and calm as he made his way out into the blue abyss. I on the other hand, questioning his sanity, kept watching the 15 min v-log of him explaining his journey to the tropical islands.
I know very little about sailing outside of Youtube videos and watching Tom Hanks throw a make-shift sail boat together in the movie Castaway. And while there’s lots to learn I’m sure, there’s one part of a sail boat that I didn’t realize existed that this V-logger kept referring to. You’ll have to use your imagination here (or go google it), but It’s called the ‘wind-vane’. It has a unique role that is simple, but oh so important. Its job is to keep the rudder in the proper place, so the boat keeps going the proper direction. It serves as an autopilot of sorts. Every ship has a ‘rudder’ (I’m sure you’ve heard of it). It acts as the steering wheel for the entire ship. Push the rudder left, and the entire ship will slowly bend that way. Push it right, and right it goes. The wind-vain’s job is to keep the rudder pointed the right direction, even amidst heavy winds or violent waves, while the sailor can sleep or attend other needs on deck.
After doing a bit more reading to learn about this piece of equipment. The wind-vane, in a nutshell, harnesses the power of the wind and sea to steer a boat. The harder the wind blows and the faster the boat sails, the more force there is to bring the boat back on course when it starts to wander. The wind-vane keeps the rudder in the right position, so the rudder can keep the boat heading the right direction. Genius! It uses the force of the harsh winds and rough seas to steer the boat.
This wind-vane though, not every ship has. Most rely on electronic steering systems to keep it on course. But if those fail, then the sailor is stuck with using the stars. Good luck!
However, if a sailor chooses to take the time to learn how to balance the wind-vane, attach it to the ships rudder, and make sure the control lines are set correctly. Then you’ll have a surefire means of navigation, regardless of what happens on the sea. Makes sense why these crazy sailors flying solo across the pacific felt the confidence to do it (along with years of experience I’m sure). The ships rudder is in good hands, because of the invention of the wind-vain!
Now why do I say that? Well, each of us have something inside of us that is like the rudder on a ship. It is small, but incredibly powerful. It’s our tongue. That’s right. That piece of meat between your upper and lower jawbone. The bible refers to it as ‘the tongue’ - meaning our words, and what we say to people. Is it really that powerful though?
Most of us probably haven’t ever really given much thought to what we say to others. We just talk. whatever comes out, comes out. And what I say often is determined by who I’m talking to.
The things we say around our family members is probably different than what you say to your fraternity brother or teammate or high school friends. Why is that?
We’ll look at that in a bit, but Gods word says that our tongues often get us into trouble, and can actually cause a lot of damage if we’re not careful about what we say.
One of the eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life recorded what he had to say about our tongue in Luke 6:45. He said, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
Jesus makes this pretty wild connection for us here. He says that what we say is the clearest indicator of what’s true of our heart. If there is evil in my heart, you’ll be able to tell by what comes out of my mouth.
So Jesus is saying that the primary thing affecting what comes out of my mouth, whether thats with my parents, sorority sisters, best friend, ex, grandparents, or outright enemy is the evil or good, in my heart. Not necessarily what they say to me or my circumstances.
The bible seems to be pretty clear on where the real problem lies, we all have evil in our hearts.
Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure, who can understand it?”
There’s an author in the New Testament who gives us a picture of the tongue that you just read about. He’s the one who gives us this word picture of a boat and our tongue, check it out!
James 3:4-7 - “Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, 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 body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”
There it is! Our tongues are like rudders that steer our lives. They are like a spark that can burn an entire forest down. What we say to our closest friends, new acquaintances, and even our enemies seems to reveal what’s in our hearts already. Our tongues will inevitably. Affect relationships. Bless us. Curse us. And perhaps you see the affects of this now more than ever. Being at home, in quarantine, with your family. Its always interesting to me that whenever I go home, the things I find myself saying to my siblings or parents or even high school friends, typically falls short of Paul’s command to believers in Ephesians.
Ephesians 4:29 - “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
What a challenging perspective from God!
Another verse that stands out to me on this idea of our tongue is found in Proverbs.
Proverbs 18:21 - “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit”
Men use on average 7,000 words per day
Women use on average 20,000 words per day
Makes sense. I feel like most would say this is generally true. But regardless of the numbers, both guys and gals can find it difficult to not just operate out of our default. In fact, there are lots of ways we see the ‘power of death’ in how we communicate with others.
Sarcasm: Proverbs 26:18-19
Bragging: Proverbs 27:2
Gossip: Proverbs 11:13, 16:28, 20:19
Loose/Crude language: Ephesians 5:3-4, Romans 12:2
Complaining: Philippians 2:14-16
Comparison/One-upping: 2 Corinthians 10:12
Bitterness: Hebrews 12:15
Arguing: Philippians 2:14-16, Hebrews 12:14
Judgmental: James 3:9-11
Not thinking before speaking/Discretion: Proverbs 15:28
Anger: 2 Timothy 2:24-25
Tone: Proverbs 15:1
When receiving correction: Proverbs 12:15, 15:31-32
Do any of those sound familiar? Maybe over the past week you’ve been on the receiving end of some of that, or perhaps you’ve let your own tongue get the best of you.
On the flip side, our tongues have amazing potential! It can steer us the right direction amidst craziness in our lives. Much like the wind-vane on a sail boat, God’s word provides us with the consistent and dependable anchor for how we are to love and communicate with others. A sail boat without the wind vane is eventually going to get lost and hurt those on board or on other ships if not being guided correctly. When Gods words become our words, we possess the ‘power of life’ to build up, love, direct, and speak wisdom into circumstances and relationships.
Some ways we can do that:
Sharing the gospel: Romans 10:14-15
Rejoicing with others: Romans 12:15
Praying for Others: James 5:17
Encouraging: Hebrews 10:24-25
Forgiving: Ephesians 4:32
Fruit of the Spirit: Galatians 5:22-23
Maybe you haven’t ever taken an inventory of what you say, and asked where does it come from. Try it today!
Are your relationships with people primarily defined by ‘words of death’ or ‘words of life’?
Take some time to reflect and even observe your tongue in the season God has you in right now.
Why do you think our speech is so important to God?
When is it hardest for you to control your tongue?
Think of a time when you received words that felt like the ‘power of life’. How did it impact you?
What is one way that you can become like Christ in this area, by choosing to share words that give life instead of death?
