Rust

James 3:8-No one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same source both fresh and bitter water?

Or from the Spanish (disclaimer, this is LOOSELY translated from the Spanish New King James by me, who is neither a Spanish language expert, or Bible scholar):

No one controls the tongue (literally, 'no one brings it into submission'). It is a type of evil that is never satisfied or content to let be. It has all the poison it can hold. With the tongue we bless (most literally, 'make speeches') to our Lord, and we also curse men, those who bear His likeness. This isn't right! Do you get salt and fresh water from the same source?

Yes, I realize that this is the verse I posted on earlier, but sisters, there is SO MUCH there that I need to learn. I'd say I could camp out here for another three, four, or say, 20 posts, and not have plumbed its depths.

I happened to be wrapping up this study at the kitchen table at the same time the master [those of you who do not normally ready my every day blog, "the master," (little 'm') is my blog name for hubby]was studying for his Sunday sermon on the computer. Priscilla closes the study with this question:

Discuss what the uses of poison reveal about the danger of an undisciplined tongue. How does it feel to know you have used your tongue as an instrument of poison?

I began to ponder how poison works on the body. Perhaps it is my ADHD tendencies coming out, but I found my mind wandering, "What does poison do, exactly? How does it work?" Besides knowing that poison is bad--it can kill you--I had little for my brain to work with. Thankfully, I've had few brushes with poison. I asked the master to google 'poison in the body,' and he obliged. He read about poison attacking the nervous system, damaging the heart, spreading infection in the blood stream, and without immediate medical care, leading to sudden and certain death.

Surely, nothing that came from my mouth could be included in this category. My words--even the "undisciplined" ones--aren't that insidious. Ha, ha, Mrs. Shirer, you can color me off the hook!

The master: Of course, this website is dealing with snake poison...
Me: Mmm Hmm? distracted because I'm looking ahead to day 2; nothing more for me to learn here after all
The master: Well, what kind of poison is the verse talking about? -pause- not hearing him because I'm translating day 2 Jess! What verse are you in?
Me:Oh! It was James 8:3
The master: Let's look it up on Blue Letter Bible. Few things in life give him more pleasure than Blue Letter Bible. The Greek word used there for 'poison' can mean the poison of asps....ugh, yeah, we covered that...the poison of animals...right, o.k. Got it. Moving right along...and rust.

Hold the phone! Rust? No, it can't be! The steady drips of sarcasm, the tiny overflows of anger, the small seepage of derision--those couldn't possibly count? And in that moment, the Holy Spirit revealed the sin of my mouth, my spirit, my heart (for out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks). My "colorful verbiage," my "telling it like it is," my "extensive vocabulary," are qualities I actually pride myself in. But so often they are nothing more than bitter waters flowing out and corroding those around me.

And where does this acidic fount pool? Why, on the people I love most! I wouldn't spread that kind of sewage around in public! Nothing so speedily deadly as a snake bite, true, but slowly and surely, my undisciplined words are eating away at my children and my husband--like rust. And to answer your question, Priscilla, it feels lousy to be an instrument of rust.

Seal them up, Lord, those leaks. I don't want them. I repent of using my mouth to destroy my family, bit by little bit. Wash me from the inside and renew a right spirit within me. Amen.