Hung by the Tongue

For every kind of beast, and of birds, and serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
-James 3:7-8
I have seen the perfect example of being hung by your own tounge when I had to go to court with my boyfriend.
How many of you ever had foot-in-mouth disease and every time you open your mouth, your foot seemed to end up in it? Have you ever been hung by the tongue? Have you ever opened your mouth and said something that you knew was going to get you in trouble, or going to come back and haunt you? All of us have had the experience of saying something, and then wishing we had not said it! Our words can bless, encourage, strengthen, and bring the power of God on the scene. But words can also hurt, destroy, kill reputations, curse, and damage people. There is power in what you say! That's why we need to be careful. Our mouth can be one of the most dangerous weapons that we have. There have been many times we've bought things on ourselves because of what we've said. Every time you open your mouth and confess that the enemy has really got you down, you've given him information that he wouldn't have known. What you say really does have a lot to do with what happens in your life.
Proverbs 18:21 (New International Version)
The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.
The enemy is attacking people by using their workplace, their marriage, their children. Don't fall into a trap set by Satan!

The children's rhyme says, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." I wish that were true, but the reality of life is that words are a powerful force. Good, encouraging words can accomplish great things in a person's life. Bitter and critical words can do tremendous damage. And the scary reality is, you must have a license to drive a car or to carry a concealed weapon, and training goes with that. But every-body gets a tongue, and there is no mandatory training goes with this powerful instrument. The problem really isn't in the mouth. The problem is in the heart. Down in the deepest recesses of our being, where we don't like to let people see what really exists, is where the wild, bitter, deadly tongue gets its power.
Matthew 12:34 (New International Version)
You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
There is sometimes an evil tendency to want to knock people down a notch or two so that it makes us feel a notch higher. Many of us face the challenge of a tongue that runs out of control on occasion. How do we not get hung by the tongue?

First, be careful when you speak judgment on someone.
Luke 6:37 (New International Version)
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
When we are critical and judgmental, we bring that same level of judgement back on ourselves. So if you criticize someone for not doing something and you turn around and you're not doing what you're complaining about either, that same judgment is coming back on you. Second, what we say in response to someone who has taken advantage of us will determine what results we get in life. Taking the offence can turn into a trap of Satan. No matter what someone does to you, it does not excuse you to operate outside of the scriptures in your reaction to the situation. Remember, bring every thought into obedience of Christ.
1 Peter 3:9 (New International Version)
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
That's God's way of answering an attack. Our relationship with God has to do with the way we treat those around us.
Matthew 5:44 (New International Version)
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

The Next thing I want you to see about being hung by the tongue is, what goes in is what comes out. There's a term in computer programming that says, garbage in, garbage out. We need to be careful about what we feed our spirit man. What does the Word say we should be feeding our mind?
Philippians 4:8 (New International Version)
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Nowhere does it say that we're to have stinking thinking. Christians can be the most negative people on the face of the earth. don't do this, or don't do that. It won't work because we've tried it before and it didn't work then. Every time you speak a negative word, you're bringing death to your situation. Whenever you find your self speaking those destructive things in your life, turn to the Word and bring those thoughts under subjection to Jesus Christ and His Word.