Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-06-29
SPIRES OF THE SPIRIT
BTdIinq the Tongue

AAAN tAAAHAN - NAAN nA0&1"
casting station of the per-
sonaiity. OF course. written
words can bless or blight. A
mans private letters are often.
revelations Of his inner atti-
tudes and conceptions. BY
ones words. embalmed In
letters or volumes. thrones OF
judgment are set up. Il Is the
discriminating evidence Of the
written word that job had in
mind when he exclaimed, 20,
that my enemy had written
a bookl"
However, this message does
not have TO. do with words
that flow from q pen or are
hammered out on q type
writer. but rather with ex-
pressions that. fashioned by
the tongue. are proclaimed
from that pulpit and plat
form Of the personality, the
lips. There are no more SOL
emn words In the recorded
teachings Of that One who
spake as never man spake
than "Dut / saw unto YOU
that for every idle word that
men shall speak they shall
give an account thereof In
the day of Judgment. For by
thy words thou shalt be JUS
tified and by thy words shalt
thou be condemned"
But these pungent words
Of the Teacher Of Galilee.
who belongs to the ages. do
not stand as the only warn
ing about words in the Book
Of Books. Found there is.
Keep thy tongue from evil
and thy lips from speaking
guile" James says, eff q
man offend not in words, the
same Is q perfect man and
able also to bride the whole
body" And II is also James
who writes: What a forest
is set ablaze by q little spark
Of fret The tongue is a fire.
Every kind Of beast is tanned
by mankind. but the tongue
no man can tame: 1t is an
unruly evil. full of deadly
poison" Again that Book Of
Wisdom declares, "An I'M
godly man diggeth up evil
and in his lips there is a
burning fire "a whisperer
separateth friends"
Surely one of the most
comprehensive prayers that
any mortal can offer is en-
shrined in one of the great
hymns Of the church, "Set
thou q seal upon my lips,
just for today" Well has ii
been said that a hundred
times a day we need to pray
for strength not to utter an
CRY. idle, unkind, censorious,
slanderous, unfair or false
words. We must bride the
tongue as man brides q wild,
dangerous horse.
The Biblical admonitions
regarding the control Of that
unruly member, the tongue
are fully justified when it is
realized that words once ut
tered may go on singing OF
sobbing. healing or hurting
inspiring or depressing, to
the end of life's day. Re-
leased words may lacerate
and inflict wounds which
may never heal. What careers
have been ruined, what cher.
ished plan shattered, what
rainbOwS dimmed. whai
crosses reared, what grave:
dug. by cruel, thoughtless
words uttered in a regretted
moment Of anger! No wonder
that Cardinal Manning, al
the close Of his life, said, -
hope that no word of mine
written or spoken by me, will
be found to have done harm
to my fellow men when
am dead" In Farm Festi.
walls" Will Carleton mirrors
the poignant regret Of {
farmer who had spoken un'
kind words to his wife, who
as a matter of fact, haC
been doing her best to pleas,
him. Afterward the farmer
said sadly that those angry
unfair words hadn't beer
gone from his lips half {
minute before he realized thu
cold black poison with which
they were freighted. He knew
at once that he would have
given all he had and more Il
have those words safely bach
on the inside Of his lips. But
let him tell the story:
I'm notO Whdt most folk,
tDeH-to-do mould call,
! feel today as II I'd glue 4
all,
Provided I through Jitty year
might reach,
And kill and bury that half.
minute speech.
THTofag1 as.s4h &C. Il zzaa