Bridle

 I’ve never been mistaken for an equestrian. I’m too tall, too wide, and I don’t feel it’s fair to the horse. Plus, we’ve invented bikes and scooters and cars so we can give the poor ponies a break. They fulfilled their purpose long enough before the combustible engine came around and earned the right to take a breather and relax.

That said, I’ve been around enough horses to know what a bridle is, and when James insists that someone who cannot bridle their tongue deceives their own heart, it’s worth meditating upon and understanding beyond the superficial.

What a bridle does is control the horse. Due to the bridle, you can direct where you want the horse to go and not where it wants to go. When James insists that we must learn to bridle the tongue, it’s not just about knowing when to keep silent but also when to speak, what to say, and when to refrain from speaking.

You must have full control of your tongue. In doing so, you will never regret letting something slip you shouldn’t have or not warning someone you should have. Your emotions cannot get the better of you, and your mouth cannot speak of its own free will.

What takes three seconds to blurt out takes a lifetime to repair in some cases, and that’s because the person in question did not learn to bridle their tongue, nor did they have control over the words they spoke.

I’ll be the first to admit it’s not always easy. My natural inclination is to have at least a dozen patented zingers waiting to be unleashed at the first sign of someone deserving it, and it’s a battle that is ongoing with myself because sometimes it’s better to let things go than to get into endless back and forth battles of wit with people that are punching below their weight.

The entire secret of bridling one’s tongue is to ensure that you control it and that it does not control you. Easy to say, not so easy to do in the heat of the moment, but you must do it nonetheless. I know you really want to say that hurtful thing that you know will crush your spouse, your parents, your children, or your pastor, but before letting loose, ask yourself what it profits and who it profits.

We all know that person who says the worst, most hurtful thing at the worst possible moment. We’ve all got at least one in our life. It’s as though they intentionally try to twist the knife after they plunge it in, and it’s so consistent that you conclude they are either psychotic or aren’t in control of their faculties when they let their tongues run loose.

Are the words you want to let spill out of your mouth like a dam breaking going to bring peace, healing, joy, and reconciliation, or will they cause division, hurt, brokenheartedness, and acrimony? By determining what the words will produce, you will be able to determine who profits. If the tirade you’re about to unleash will bring hurt and heartache, you know it’s the enemy who will profit and benefit. Why give the devil a win? Learn to bridle your tongue.

Consequently, there are times when you have to force your tongue to say the things it needs to say, even when the rest of you will be uncomfortable doing it. Bridling one’s tongue is controlling it, both when to speak and when to keep silent. Yes, there are moments and situations when what you know you have to say will land like a loud burp at the ballet.

James 1:26, If anyone among you thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.”

Bridling one’s tongue is not something that is done by a third party but by the individual in question. You must bridle your tongue. Your pastor can’t do it for you, nor your husband, or your friends. If you have to take a breath before you respond to a provocation, then take the breath. If you have to take ten, then take ten, but be certain that you’re the one controlling what your tongue is doing.

If the enemy knows you are easily riled, he will bring people in your path who will readily rile you. If you respond to the provocation with vitriol and uncontrollable rage, then the enemy has one, and you’ve proven that your tongue is not yet bridled.

Luke 6:45, “A Good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

Given that a man’s mouth will reflect whether sin is in his heart, we better understand the need for bridling our tongue and committing to doing so.

When you are of Christ, you are imbued with the character of Christ. If your character is not in harmony with the Word of God, if your life does not mirror Jesus, if you do not bridle your tongue but say the things you shouldn’t and omit the things you should, your religion, your spirituality, your higher plane thinking, or any other new term for old foolishness we might come up with is useless.

It’s like having a tent someone pocked a thousand holes into yet being confident that when the rains come, you’ll remain dry. Your confidence will hold only until the first raindrop makes its way onto your face; then, it will crumble like it was never there.

False doctrine begets false confidence. It’s unavoidable, as is the person’s reaction once they realize they’ve been clinging to mist and shadow rather than the hem of His garment.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.