A Horse Without a Bit

Two summers ago I found myself in the North Georgia mountains riding a horse without a bit. My family chartered horses for an excursion. I was given the lead horse with the foreshadowing warning that he will need to be reigned in as he wants to finish the trail twice as fast as the others. “Be sure to hold him back,” they warned. I shrugged. No problem. I’ve ridden horses off and on. My family each garnered a horse with its own set of problems (overeating, going off-trail, a deadhead). We each have tall tales and legendary feats we encountered that day. However, the biggest problem was that the ranch sent us out on the trail, all novices, completely alone. No guide. They felt sure we would be fine to traverse the winding, skinny trail up the side of the mountain because their horses were accustomed to the trail. They would instinctively know where to go.

Two miles in, my horse’s bit fell out. Just fell out of his sloppy, wet mouth. I phoned back to the ranch; they said they couldn’t help until the end of the path, two additional miles ahead. They assured me I should be ok. We weren’t so sure. Remember, he was the lead horse and trotting was his normal pace. I had been reigning in his speed the whole time so my family’s horses could follow behind. I managed to dismount when he stopped for a bite of wildflowers. My daughter told me to try to put the bit back into his mouth. She had done some horse riding and care in her elementary years and said it was pretty easy. I bravely stuck my fingers inside that mouth and tried to act like I knew what I was doing. I felt accomplished. I did it. I put it in, but, no sooner had I put it in, he spits it out. Resolved, I took a deep breath, got back on the saddle, no bit attached, and off we went lickety-split up and down the trail of the mountain. I didn’t see my family again. I was so far ahead I had no idea where they were. I would hear cries in the distance behind me, but I couldn’t stop.

All this to say that it was terrifying trying to control my horse without a bit. He literally never slowed down, and I was never in control of him again. I left my family behind, and the 2nd horse did not take the lead but went wandering off the path, tangled in a tree vine, bucking wildly to get loose. Like I said, a day for the memory books of family legends and lore.

God calls Himself the Word. With spoken word, the universe was set into existence. With spoken word lives are forgiven and changed for eternity. Words reveal what’s in my heart. Words are powerful. James says as powerful as a horse, ship, or fire.

James 1:26, 3:3 "if anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religions is useless...we put bits in horses' mouth that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body..."

Being Silent Doesn’t Solve the Problem

James tells us that our tongues need to be controlled to validate the gospel in our lives. Like a bit in a horse’s mouth, my tongue can be controlled. A controlled tongue does a lot of good. David Guzik comments that our redeemed hearts can show fruit in our lives by how we use our tongues to God, to others, even to ourselves, but this is only doable because of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. Self-help and man-made strategies will only go so far. Being silent, even as Proverbs sometimes suggests, doesn’t solve the problem. Guzik goes on to give the illustration of how a silent tongue is like a horse staying in a barn all day. It’s not the intended use for the horse, as, like the tongue, it is meant to be used. God wants us to speak and use words. He wants us to allow His spirit to do a transformation work in our hearts so what we speak about, how we speak, and when we speak begins and continues to reflect His heart for the hearers.

I can’t spit out my bit. I have to let the spirit put it in me, and I have to accept it. I don’t want to ride down the trails of my life without a bridled tongue. I have lived to tell of it on a real horse and survived, but it was harrowing.

I don’t have to gossip, lie, brag, mock, put down others. As a follower of Jesus, I have been set free from this. I am encouraged in James that because I have the Holy Spirit inside of me, I can overcome this. I am not a slave to my tongue. It can be controlled, but not by me. It happens by having a faith that changes me. A faith that is evident in the words I say and don’t say.