CAPT• S. M. SHELTON, USN
Commanding Officer
CDR• E. L. CRANCE, USN
Executive Officer
Published each Monday for all personnel
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at no cost to the government. Articles
contained herein are not to be construed
as representing the official opinion of
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artment, inasmuch as the Adak Sun is not
an official publication.
EDITOR; H. T. DAVIS, YN1 055-J or 365
aJA/lAJNS COKMEK' "
TONGUE *
by Chaplain Stenberg
This is not the article originally
plannedffor this week. The other was
already completed when a phone call
pointed out an ever-present problem.
That problem is the tongue.
Take a look at what a writer in the
Bible has to say. The book of James,
chapter 3 states, "All of us often go
wrong; the man who never says a wrong
thing is a perfect character, able to
bridle his whole being. If we put bits
into horses’ mouths to make them obey
our will, we can direct their whole
body. Or think' - of ships; large they
may be, yet even when driven by strong
gales they can be directed by a tiny
rudder on whatever course the helmsman
chooses. So with the tongue. It is
a small member but it can make huge
claims. . .
"What a huge stack of timber.can be
set ablaze by the tiniest spark! And
the tongue is in effect a f.ire. It
represents among our members the world
with all its wickedness; it pollutes'
our whole being; -it keeps the wheel of
our existence red-hot, and . ,its flames
are fed.by hell. Beasts and .birds of
every kind, creatures . that crawl on
the ground or swim in the sea, can be
subdued and have been subdued bv man
(continued next column)'
kind; but no man can subdue the tongue.
It is an intractable evil, charged with
deadly venom. We use it to sing the
praises of our Lord and Father, and we
use it to invoke curses upon our fellow
men who are made in God’s likeness. Qjt
of the same mouth came praises and
curses. My brothers, this should not
be so* Does a fountain gush with Both
fresh and blackish water from the same
opening? Can a fig-tree, my brothers,
yield olives, or a vine figs? Mo more
does salt water yield fresh.1’ (from
the NEW ENGLISH BIBLE, translation).
It could hardly be more clear. There
is always a wealth of material to talk
about if a person wants to exercise the
venom of the tongue. As the passage
commences, "All of us often go wrong."
We, therefore, all leave plenty to
talk about and usually those who talk
the most also have the most to be talk
ed about.
Like a forest fire the talk spreads
damage and destruction to all in its
path. Once gossip is begun, no person
is safe from its deadly effect. In a
small community this is exceptionally
true. It is murder, not with a gun or
a club, but with, a deadly weapon. It
•is character assassination that separ
ates one person from. another. It
destroys self-confidence- and self res
pect. There is no way to fight back.
A whispering campaign or spreading a
rumor, false or true, destroys. It
does not help the one who tells. It
reduces respect for a gossip-spreader.
Pity then the one who .fe&ls he or
she must repeat anything derogatory
about another person. It is a busy
tongue connected to a brain not in
gear?. The gossiper must use this means
for something to say—little-- else is
known. The gossiper is usually lonely
dissatisfier and inferior. Think of
that the next time you hear someone
running down another person, telling
that bit that is just too good to keep
to themsleves.
To keep God’s law, to fe£l better
about yourself and your fellow-man, to
enjoy life more and make it more enjoy
able, try this: Sav something nice
about someone. Instead of that story
about someone else’s behavior, think
of what might be good about them. If
you cannot think of anything, did you
really think? ' r