James 3:5-6 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! (6) 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.

As the bit is to the horse and the rudder is to the ship, so the tongue is to the body. Small in size, but grand in purpose and power. With the tongue we boast of great things. We can share the magnificence of Christ with our tongue or we can boast of ourselves. The tongue has the power to destroy and the power to rebuild and yet, no one can control it.

One of the biggest challenges in my life has been keeping control over my own tongue. As a youth I would be “quick tongued” when it came to sarcasm and wit. Often it would get me into difficult situations and then the same tongue that caused the trouble was then used to talk my way out of it. I would find myself starting fires that I eventually needed to extinguish… all with the same member of the body.

James tells us that the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. Though it is a part of the body, it causes great evil and wickedness for the entire body, set afire by hell itself. As harsh as that sounds, we need to take the warning very seriously. Many forest fires start with a small match or the careless disposal of a cigarette. Once the forest begins burning it can take days or weeks to extinguish, using an amazing amount of manpower and resources.

God desires that we get control of our tongue even though we read that “no one can tame it.” So how are we to control and be accountable to something we already know we can’t control? Well, it takes help from the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit, as told in Galatians, is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self control. When we walk in the Spirit we will not gratify the things of the flesh. James will give us some helpful insight in later verses so let’s jump ahead a bit.

• Walk in the Spirit ~ Galatians 5:16
• Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you ~ James 4:7
• Do not speak evil against one another ~ James 4:11
• Do not grumble against one another ~ James 5:9

Just a few simple verses that pack a lot of punch! Walk in the Spirit, submit to the Lord, and watch how you speak to one another. Thank you Lord for giving me the help I need when I need it.

Prayer

Lord, help me today to gain control of my tongue. I know I can not do it without your help so I surrender to you today as your child looking to you for the strength I need. Amen