To us, he was Dan, but to the horse world, he was better known by his competition name of Second Chance. He joined our family in 1991 when we purchased him for our younger daughter. He was a beautiful, chocolate brown, Quarter horse. One of the first times I was up close with Dan was when I was helping Kelly get his bit and bridle in place. You might say that Dan and I got off to a bad start. I do think he sensed my fear of horses. Standing beside his head, minding my own business, just waiting for instructions from Kelly–he bit me! Yes, he bit me!
I was totally innocent, yet with one fell swoop of his mouth, he came after me. With his mouth, he inflicted great pain. I not only wanted to get the bit and bridle on as quickly as possible, but I wanted to duct tape his mouth shut! Here we were providing room and board, a wool blanket, new shoes–nice expensive new shoes, good feed and hay to eat, and he had the nerve to bite me! Needless to say, our relationship was a bit rocky from that day forward.
Over the years, I’ve been told to never stand behind a horse because it might kick you and never pull its tail or jerk too hard on the reigns; it might rear back. No one ever told me to beware of their mouths because they just might try to take a giant chunk out of you! Horses need to come with a warning sign: Beware! If you get too close–they will bite!
Come to think of it–many women need the same sign! Beware! If you get too close–she will bite! Quite often, we can inflict great pain on others with our mouths. Innocent bystanders suffer the wrath of our tongue. James 3:8 tells us, “But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (ESV). James says that you and I cannot control our tongue. The flesh, apart from the controlling power of the Holy Spirit, will get us in trouble. There are times, even with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, I get into trouble because I do not obey when He says, “Dianne keep your mouth shut. What you are about to say is hurtful, unwise, and not honoring to you, the person you are speaking with, or Me.” Do I listen and obey? Not always. There are times, when I ignore the Spirit’s voice and open my big mouth, inflicting hurt and pain on others, and thus living in disobedience to the Father.
The words we use and the way we conduct our speech say a lot about our character. Animals, like Dan, bite to defend themselves. It is part of their character. Certainly words and the tongue can be used to defend us, but more often they are used to tear down and even destroy others. Our character as believers is to reflect our Heavenly Father in our actions and our words. “The only one who can wreck your character is you” Leonard Ravenhill, The Taming of the Tongue.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21 ESV)
dianne