Over the past decade there is one term which many Americans have become familiar with. This term is used to isolate and justify the invasion of Iraq. This term is, "weapons of mass destruction". 

While this term is used to describe horrendous weapons such as biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons, it can also be used to describe a part of our human body, the tongue. James 3:5-6,8 tells us, "Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our member, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell... But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison".

Throughout history nothing has caused more conflict than the unbridled tongue. Our tongue is a weapon of mass destruction and below are just six of the many ways in which we can use our tongue as a weapon. The first way we can use our tongue as a weapon is with reckless words. Instead of thinking about what we are going to say we just blurt out what comes to our mind. When we do this we can cause great pain to another person and not only begin a conflict, but cause it to escalate.

The second way we can use our tongue as a weapon is by grumbling and complaining. When we grumble and complain all the time we are showing that we have lost our primary focus-God. When we grumble and complain about others what we are doing is attacking them. This, like reckless words, will cause great pain and conflict to break out.

The third way we use our tongue as a weapon is by telling falsehoods. "Falsehood" includes any form of misrepresentation or deceit (Proverbs 24:28; I Corinthians 4:2), including lying, exaggeration, telling only part of the truth, or distorting the truth by emphasizing favorable facts while minimizing those that are against us." (1)

The fourth way we use our tongue as a weapon is with gossip. "Gossip is often both the spark and the fuel for conflict." (2) Gossip is an insidious tool that Satan uses to split a church, destroy a friendship, and cause family feuds.

The fifth way we use our tongue as a weapon is with slander. "Slander involves speaking false and malicious words about another person." (3) Slander and gossip go hand in hand. Slander is so destructive that it is against the law. There have been civil cases in which the slanderer has had to pay money as restitution to the one they spoke so falsely against.

The sixth way we use our tongue as a weapon is with worthless talk. Worthless talk is any talk that violates God's high standard, especially His standard for how we are to speak of others.

As a Christian we must always remember that by indulging in reckless talk, grumbling and complaining, falsehood, gossip, slander or conflict, we also erode our character, the character of the church, and our relationship with God.

by James M. Lowery, Jr. (originally written in 2006)

Footnotes:
1. Ken Sande, THE PEACE MAKER, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, p. 121
2. Ibid., p. 121
3. Ibid., p. 121

All Scripture quotations from the King James Version of the Bible