ON AUGUST 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC before 210,000 crowds of black people, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the powerful speech, I Have a Dream, judged as the greatest speech of the century "because of his mastery of the spoken word and the impact it had done on the American consciousness."
The speech became a culmination of a great march of justice when the fight for civil rights was meeting a critical point of resistance. The "Speech has power. Words do not fade. What starts out as a sound, ends in a deed," says Abraham Joshua Herschel. Such utilization of the power of tongue continuously inspired, encouraged, and motivated people to pursue dreams, to rise from downfalls, and "to reach the highest star" in spite of resistance, impossibilities, and discouragements.
Sadly, words are being misused because of an untamed tongue. Out of anger, annoyance, hate, stress or simply tired people utter unkind and hurtful words to their spouse, friends, workmates, and to the children in particular which they would eventually regret of but could not undo the damages it created as a result. In light of this, we must tame our tongue in order to serve its rightful purpose as a vessel for harmonious relationships, lasting camaraderie, and healthy home and workplace. Hence, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry" (James 1:19-20).
In order to tame our tongue first, "we should be quick to listen" to the person we are conversing with to understand, empathize, and to show our sincere care. Sadly, "most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply", says Stephen Covey. Second, "Slow to speak" in order to learn from others. As Proverb 17:28 says, "Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues." TV interviewer, Larry King, observed, "I never learned anything while I was talking." Third, "slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires." In other words, in our anger, it often does us no good at all.
The scripture states, "We all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way" (James 3:2).
A perfect person is someone who never says anything hurtful, proud, and manipulative to others rather speaks in fear of God and love for others. Hence, as we tame and control our tongue we can control and save ourselves from quarreling, anger, and hostility and live in peace and order before God and man.