Loaded

"Loaded"

Daniel Courington

I like an array of musical styles and musicians. Recently, I noticed a song that rang a truth that I thought was phrased in such a way that it was piercing. The song is called "Loaded" and it's performed by a little known blues/folk band called The Wood Brothers. This is no endorsement of the band, as I know little about their background and have not listened to all of their music but I thought some of these lyrics were too good not to share. The lyrics include:

Sometimes the tip of my tongue
Is the barrel of a gun
And it's loaded

There were no guns at the time of writing but I believe James was trying to convey a very similar message about the power of the tongue when he talked about the tongue in his book to the twelve tribes:

James 3:5-10: So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! (6) And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. (7) For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, (8) but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (9) With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. (10) From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

I can think of many ways that the tongue resembles a gun. Here are three:

1. A gun's purpose can be for both good and for bad.
   

-Few would argue that our local police officers have need of a gun. In fact, if someone was to break into my home and I called the police, I would have a great problem if they came without their guns. On the other side of the coin, I would be greatly upset to see that a convicted felon in my neighborhood was given a gun permit. The Proverbs say this about the tongue: Proverbs 12:18 "There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." Are you speaking things that build up your friends and others or things that tear them down or discourage them?

1. A gun's safety is easy to remove.
   

-It doesn't take a great man to pull a trigger! I am greatly saddened when I learn of a young child being hurt by a gun because the gun was not put away like it should have been. People are hurt when we don't properly secure our tongue. The song continues with this lyric:

"When my passion welled up
and I readied my aim
I didn't know my own name"

Sometime people will hurt others in ways that are terrible because they simply allow their emotions to get the best of them, and their tongue spews out venom (James 3:8). Do you have control over your emotions? Do you let little things become big problems?