JAMES 3:6-10 – And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
THEME OF THE DAY: LORD, HELP ME! I was sitting in our living room, reading today’s scripture, and my wife strolled in. I stopped her with a question, “What is your biggest struggle in your walk with the Lord?” Without hesitancy, she said, “Prayer; a disciplined prayer life.” And before she could walk away, I acknowledged the same. I believe prayer is likely one of the most talked about disciplines in the Christian life for its importance and necessity but the most neglected among Christians and churches. Why? Because it is the most important thing a Christian and church does making it the highest target of attack by the devil. And he keeps us from developing a life of prayer by two things; getting us busy and fueling the weakness of our flesh that prompts laziness. But back to the conversation with my wife. I went on and said to her, “I also think high on the list of struggles in our walks with the Lord is the control of our tongue, or the quality of our speech.” She quickly said, “Oh, yes, that also.” Then onward she went and here we are.
Take a few moments and go back to today’s scripture. Read it over a few times, then come back and rejoin me. Welcome back! What did we take away from the multiple readings of James’ penetrating instructions on the human tongue? Let’s focus on the negative because that is his emphasis. First, the tongue is beyond our control. No amount of personal resolves can make us “bite our tongue” in a heated conversation. Next, the tongue may quickly become a “weapon of mass destruction.” The landscape of relationships is filled with the carnage of failed, estranged, and abandoned relationships because of cruel, hate-filled, and attacking words that once spoken cannot be retrieved. Let that simmer in our hearts for a moment. Just one sentence. One brief conversation of gossip or slander is all it takes to do what might be lifelong damage in relationships. Oh, how unbecoming of a Christian!
And here is the application for all of us . . . If there is one area that should make us aware of our constant need for the Lord’s help, it would be the control of our tongues. How easy to “let a word fly” in a heated moment causing pain. How easy to be impulsive and put forth a sentence we regret. How easy to say something without any thought that wounds a person. Yes, our inability to control the tongue should cause us to cry out, “Lord, teach me what to say when to say it, and how to say it so that I might represent You well in all my speech.”
PRAYER: “Father, please help me guard my tongue so I won’t damage my testimony for Your Son by my speech.”
QUOTE: “If you think you can control your tongue and what you say on your own, God will quickly reveal you can’t.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim