James 3:1-12
Taming the Tongue
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.
As small as our tongue is, it can cause a lot of hurt and damage to oneself and to others. As mentioned in the passage above, "..no human being can tame the tongue.." and "It is restless evil, full of deadly poison." I know that I've lacked control of my tongue in moments of my pride and anger. I knew exactly what to say in order to really hurt the other person to their face or behind their back. I also realized it wasn't just what I said to the person that hurt them, but how I said it. We're capable of hurting someone just by the tone in our voice. I remember I would always tell my students to "watch their tone" when they were speaking to me in a disrespectful manner. Sometimes I ought to tell that to myself..
"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness." I wonder how God can still accept my worship when I have cursed others with my tongue. What kind of examples are we being to others when we claim we are Christians, yet can say such hateful things about God's very own creation? May we be more mindful of what we think and say, not only for the sake of respecting others but respecting the Creator.
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3 comments:
thanks esther for such a wonderful, insightful reflection. this passage shows us that our words inevitably reveal what is in our hearts, try as we might to hide it. in fact, i think that we often discover the true state of our hearts by what we say. we are often shocked at just what comes out of our mouths. we did not know we could be that evil or vicious or vindictive till we give voice to our deepest emotions, especially as you say, in times of anger and pride.
these verses remind me once again that the whole trouble is the human heart of which the tongue is merely the instrument or mouthpiece. unless the heart is cleansed, purified, "as white as snow", the tongue will inevitably betray the evils therein. as we are all "works in progress", the best we can do in the meantime especially during times of conflict is to be "slow to speak" or to not speak at all.
Thank you Esther for your insight on today's passage. "Slow to speak and quick to listen." That's why God gives us two ears and only one mouth!! =)
Thank you, Esther!
It is so true how much power such a small part like our tongues have. They hold to power to shape words; words that can be used to destroy someone or build them up. James teaches us that we need to control our tongues in how we use it because if we don't, it can strike and do so much damage and cause so much pain.
Verse 9-11 caught my attention. How can we praise God with such a vile, corrupt tool. It's like we're tainting worship with something so unclean. We should give God tainted worship with filthy word from an unclean tongue.
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