Published May 5, 2024

by Andy Berges

 

Nearly everyone is familiar with the seven deadly sins. Of the seven, pride is considered by many to be the deadliest and the primary source of the other six sins. It’s been said that it was through pride that the devil became the devil. 

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With pride topping the list, anger is not far behind. ​

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As Psalms 37:8 warns, “Refrain from anger, it leads only to evil.” If we don’t control our anger, the devil will use it as a foothold to inflict destruction and the deadly weapon that he utilizes is our tongue. 

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Although the tongue is one of the smallest organs of the human body it can be extremely lethal. In many instances throughout history, it has been a weapon of mass destruction that has ignited numerous wars that led to the deaths of tens of millions. 

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James 3:5-6 mentions how we need to tame the tongue - “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.”​

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Nobody is immune from getting angry. In fact, most of us experience some degree of anger on a daily basis. Whenever anger arises within us, we must exercise self-control and tame our tongues.

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It’s ok to be angry. What’s not ok is to be cruel towards others when we become angry. Most of us have chosen to be cruel many times throughout our lives and regretted the toxic words we had unleashed shortly afterward. As Ambrose Bierce forewarned, “Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.”  

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We are the only ones at the helm in regard to the direction our tongues are steered. When anger arises within us, it’s in our best interest to “watch your tongue” as we were constantly advised to do when children.

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The appropriate thing to do when becoming angry is to zipper our lips and keep our tongues at bay rather than igniting a dangerous fire with them. As Proverbs 21:23 informs us, "Those who guard their tongues keep themselves from calamity."