My previous post, Fiery Tongue Syndrome: 3 Primary Components, identified the elements required to ignite and spread a fire of the tongue and spread destruction. We may be left wondering how to keep our tongues from setting blazes (as described in James 3:5 (NASB). As Christians, we can apply steps of prevention and mitigation from the fire-fighting world to minimize the potential dangers of a fiery tongue and lower the risk of harm to ourselves and others.

Risk Assessment

What is the likelihood of a fire starting in your neighborhood? It’s important to be fire-aware in order to be prepared and not caught by surprise. Likewise, recognizing the power of the tongue to either harm and destroy or to bless and build up is the beginning of wisdom in controlling the tongue. (James 3: 9-10, NASB). Proverbs 18:21 (NASB) goes so far as to say that “death and life are in the power of the tongue.” The inability to control our tongues is part of the realization that the risk for harm is high if left to our own strength. 

Preparation

One of the initial steps of mitigation is to remove the combustible materials that could feed a fire. God has offered to do this work for us when He offers “heart replacement surgery”: “I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26, NIV). When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, He makes us “a new creature; the old things passed away…[and] new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NASB). His gift to us is freedom from the power of the tongue, and “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36, NIV). Christ gives us freedom to choose our words!  

Decrease the Fuel Load

A defensible space needs to be created; if there is no combustible fuel, there will be no fire. The Scriptures apply this principle to our tongues in Proverbs 26:20-21 (NIV): “without wood, a fire goes out; without a gossip, a quarrel dies down. As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.” Peace will result when ungodly words (including lies, slander, gossip, negative criticism, and flattery) stop being spoken. 

Just as an overfilled coffee cup will have its content spilled out if bumped, our tongue will spill whatever fills the heart when shaken by life circumstances. Is your cup filled with anger, bitterness, discontent, or self-centeredness? Or is it love, peace, patience, kindness, and other characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit? Just as wet wood is fire-resistant, a life saturated with God’s Word will be less likely to ignite fires with the tongue.

Ongoing Monitoring and Safety Checks

Those with the responsibility of minimizing fire risks keep an eye out for potential problems before they escalate. They prune dead or diseased trees and remove potential hazards. The safest fire is one that doesn’t start. This sounds like what Jesus described in John 15:1-8. He exhorts his followers to depend on Him to prune parts of their lives that keep them from fruitfulness.

Although fire towers remain where foresters watch for fires, much of that work is now done with drones and planes. Similarly, God warns us to keep a constant overwatch on our mouths. Proverbs 21:23 says,“He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.” Proverbs 13:3 says, “He who guards his lips guards his life.” We can ask God to help with this vital responsibility as in Psalm 141:3: “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.” 

Just as hot-spots may show up when firefighters are keeping watch after a major fire, we realize we will never have total “tongue-control.” But whenever a flare-up occurs, douse it with the water of God’s Word, confess, repent, and move on.

Safety Checkpoint

What kind of “fuel” is available for your tongue? Because “out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34b), ask the Holy Spirit to do a heart-check on you to reveal what is filling your heart. It is the “good treasure [which] brings forth good things,” (Matthew 12:35).

Ask “am I satisfied with the harvest (product) of my lips? (Proverbs 18:20). Do my words fit the description of Proverbs 16:24: “pleasant…, sweet…, and healing”? 

Saturate your mind with God and godly things (Philippians 4:8), remembering GIGO (garbage in, garbage out). Our tongues are windows into our souls and spiritual lives. Practice speaking words that encourage, build up, comfort, and benefit others (Ephesians 4:29).

Prayer

“May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer,” (Psalm 19:14, NIV).