My Mouth Directs Where I am Going

In the mid-20th century, a man named Christopher Langan gained national fame for an IQ estimated at 195-210, one of the highest ever recorded in human history. Given his remarkable intellectual capacity, one would expect his life to be directed toward global success, significant scientific breakthroughs, contributions to space engineering, and other such remarkable achievements. However, he spent much of his adult life working very ordinary jobs, even becoming a barbouncer and having multiple conflicts with schools and people.

Psychologists and journalists who studied his life sought to understand how his immense potential led him down a below-average path. They identified a key pattern: his ingrained habit of negative speech and verbal defeatism.

Langan grew up in a harsh and abusive environment. As a result of this trauma, he developed a verbal defense mechanism, constantly framing the world as a hostile, rigged system. He often declared that authority figures were conspiring against him, that institutions were inherently corrupt, and that "the system" would never allow someone like him to succeed. Although incredibly smart, Langan's mouth, not his IQ score, directed his life.  

James 3:1-5a teaches that our mouths indeed influence the direction of our lives when it says:  “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things…”

These illustrations are fitting: A 2,000-pound stallion is controlled by a 95-pound jockey using a small bit placed on the horse's tongue to steer its direction. Similarly, a large ship, which in James's time could carry approximately 300 passengers, is guided by a small rudder.

In the same way, although the tongue and mouth are small, they direct where we are headed.

What are you saying today? Are you expressing negativity and fear? Is discouraging or disrespectful speech coming from your lips? Regardless, strive to be a blessing, not a burden, with your words. How you communicate greatly affects the direction of your life and the lives of those around you.