Tiger Tongue

“God is my helper!

The Lord is the provider for my life.”

(Psalm 54:4 GW)

Today is the Chinese New Year and, while it means almost nothing to me, it is a huge celebration in many parts of the world. I saw a news report talking about this being the start of the “Year of the Tiger” and so I looked that up to see what that means. Persons born in a tiger year are known for strength and courage.

Then I was wondering whether “tiger” is in the Bible. Although there are many mentions of lions – which would have been native to the Middle East where the Bible was written – I looked it up and found it nowhere in a regular translation of the Bible. It is mentioned in one paraphrase:

“It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.

“This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue—it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!” (James 3:5-10 MSG)

It is interesting to dovetail “strength and courage” with “carelessly placed words” from an untamed tongue.

Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” The words we say do matter. They can either give hope, encouragement, blessings and life to people, or they can anger, destroy, insult, or hurt others. When we are careless with our words, we cause a kind of (emotional and/or spiritual) death. And when we are intentionally loving and gracious with our words, we encourage life. The Passion Translation of that verse says it this way: “Your words are so powerful that they will kill or give life, and the talkative person will reap the consequences.”

What consequences of your words do you desire? To bless or to curse? To give life or death? To encourage hope or destroy dreams?

Today, let us be strong, be brave, and be mindful of the words we use.

Elohim Adonai,

Thank you for being our helper, our sustainer, our support and provider, the One who upholds our lives. Thank you for the strength and courage you put within us and for your presence with us wherever we go. Thank you for Holy Spirit who lives within us to guide and guard us, and to give us more self-control. Help us to use that self control especially when we are speaking. Help our words to be life-giving to those around us. Cause us to not be frightened or dismayed at life, but to be strong and courageous as we interact with other people today. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

“Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9 NRSV)

“Behold, God is my helper and ally; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul [my upholder].” (Psalm 54:4 AMP)

“Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.” (Psalm 54:4 NIV)