TAMING THE TONGUE

James 3:1-12 / Keywords 3:9

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.

 

3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.

3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

 

1. Being a Bible teacher is difficult! Bible teachers are held to a higher standard by God than those who are not Bible teachers. This is because we have a great responsibility to use our tongues wisely. It’s a difficult thing to do! The tongue is a very small muscle, but it is a very powerful one. As a small bit in a horse, or a small rudder on a large ship can control the direction of the horse or ship, the tongue has power to move a person’s life in one direction or another. Used wrongly, our tongues can corrupt the whole body. As important as it is to tame our tongues, no one can do it all alone.

 

2. The tongue is a restless evil. It is also like a fire that can set the whole course of one’s life on fire. It is also true that our tongues can be used for beautiful things. With our tongues we praise God and we sing hymns of praise to him. But with it, we also curse others. This cannot be! Just as both fresh water and salt water cannot flow from the same stream, we cannot praise God and curse our brother with the same tongue. Our tongues should be used to praise God and to build up our brothers and sisters.

 

Prayer Father, it is so hard to control my tongue! Have mercy on me and help me to use it only for the praise of you and the building up of others.

One Word Tame your tongue!