James 3:1-12
Taming the Tongue
1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or 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. 5Likewise 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. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt[a] water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Reflection of Bee:When I was younger I thought losing my hearing is the end of the world for me, 'cos I love music.... I love to listen and to make music. I was in the school band then when I lost my hearing partially. I cried and felt I would rather die then.
But now as a grownup, the most important function I need is seeing. I use it all the time, except sleeping. In a way, I am a visual person. As I mentioned in my blog,
Who will be there for me, the losing of my sight will be worse than losing my any other abilities, such as hearing or speaking.
Speaking is the least I need. For I speak little. I speak only when I am compelled to do so to help someone or to refute a wrong statement. I speak only when necessary. I tend to admire those who can speak well effortlessly.
"Silence is golden", as the saying goes. Is it true?
The above passage warns us to control our tongue or speech, not that we should keep quiet. We need to use our tongue for something good, such as encouraging someone or to praise God. We don't use it to destroy someone or to curse. The only way to control this little organ is living a
life by the Spirit and have "self-control" over it.
Dear Lord,
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight. May my words be seasoned with 'salt' that would heal and build others. Otherwise, let me be quiet if I have nothing better to say.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Reflection of Tommy:With the same tongue we praise God, we use it to curse others (v9). When we care less with our speech, we often do great damage to others with what we say. We display our untamed tongue when we use it for gossiping, putting others down, lying, manipulating and cursing others.
We need to allow the Holy Spirit to help us fight this destructive fire of our tongue by asking Him to give us strength and power to monitor and control what we say. We also need to always remember to ask these questions before we say anything- Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?
Dear Father, thank You for teaching me once again to be aware of what I say to others. Forgive me for often out of anger and frustration, responded with hateful and hurtful words to others. Teach me to not only say what is right at the right time, but also controlling the desire to say what I shouldn’t. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.
