This past spring, our barn cat had a litter of kittens. For a few weeks, we could hear the kittens but couldn’t get to them because their mama had tucked them away in a corner of the barn and we were unable to reach them. As the kittens started opening their eyes and exploring more, they started coming within arms reach of us but would run and hide if we got too close to them. They were afraid of us because they had never had any human interaction. Even though we knew we would not hurt them or harm them, they didn’t know that. They saw us as danger and wanted nothing to do with us. Days turned into weeks and slowly they became more comfortable with us being around. We could walk into the barn and they wouldn’t run and hid from us. They still weren’t sure they wanted us to pick them up but they would be okay with us giving them food and would let us sit right beside them while they ate. Eventually all of our hard work and persistence worked, we were able to pick them up and hold them. The terrified little kittens that once wanted nothing to do with us were now allowing us to hold them. Even though they would now willingly come to us, it wasn’t something that happened over night. It took months and hours of hard work for us to get to that point. It took a lot of patience and willingness to wait on our part. It wasn’t easy or alway fun but the end result was worth it and paid off.

As I look back on all the work it took to tame the kittens, I am reminded how much work goes into taming my tongue. Isn’t it the same? When we train/tame animals, it doesn’t happen over night. You can’t expect to see results immediately. It’s something that takes time but you also can’t see results if you’re not willing to work at it and make the changes that are needed. My tongue can be harsh. My tongue can be angry. My tongue can cause pain to others. My tongue can be used in so many different ways, to either build someone up or used to totally tear them apart. It takes time and effort to tame it. It takes me realizing that in order to be who The Lord wants me to be, I need to work on the way I idolize myself. If I make myself the most important person in my life, then anything that happens to me is going to cause me to complain. It causes me to look at myself and realize that I allow things to get in the way of what The Lord has blessed me with. I can see all the things everyone else is not doing and take that time to complain about them.

What does it look like to control what I say? What if I actually paused when I wanted to reply to someone or maybe didn’t say anything at all? Why does everyone need to know what I am thinking all the time? Why do I feel the need to let my voice be heard instead of just being silent? Proverbs 29:20 says “Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” Speaking hasty words is worst than being foolish. Really stop and think about that. Do you know what the definition of a fool is according to the Webster Dictionary? Fool: a person lacking in judgment or prudence. The bible describes a fool as a person despises wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7) A fool is right in his own eyes (Proverbs 12:15) A fool makes a mockery of sin (Proverbs 14:9) A fool hides hatred with lying and utters slander (Proverbs 10:18) A fool does mischief for sport (Proverbs 10:23). There are so many verses on what it means to be a fool and the more I dive into scripture and seeing what God really has to say about being a fool, the more I realize how much I need a Savior and oh how much grace He pours out upon us day after day.

When I look at my life and all the areas where I have not practiced taming my tongue, I often feel discouraged, wish I could go back and relive those moments but I can’t. I can only move forward and practice taming the wild beast that resides in my body. Lord willing (and only with His help) the end result will be a tongue that doesn’t speak but listens. That doesn’t need to have others know my option. That it doesn’t have to be used to hateful or rude. That it doesn’t complain. I know that in my humanness, I will fail but there is a Savior Who has paid the price for my sins. That doesn’t mean I keep on sinning that grace may abound, that means I make an effort to put a leash around the beast and tie it to a post until it’s able to be controlled. This side of eternity there will never be perfection but that also doesn’t mean we should live in doom and gloom. We live in the hope that is to come for those who are in Christ and control the beast while we are still here.