James: Wisdom for Practical LifeSample

Taming The Tongue 

In a lifetime, we speak roughly 860 million words. This can be compared to 15 sets of 20 volumes of the Oxford Dictionary. Basically, we talk a lot. The tongue can be a powerful force either used for healing or destruction. And in Matt 12:36, Jesus warns us that we will give an account for every careless word we speak. 

The tongue has disproportionate power. The passage refers to horses guided by a small bit in their mouths (v.3) and a ship guided by a small rudder (v.4). So also, the tongue has immense power for influence and impact. A small word can start a war or end a marriage or make you lose a job. Its power is destructive, like a blazing fire (v.5-6) and deadly like poison (v.7-8). 

The passage says that we all stumble (v.2), we deserve judgment (v.6), we are powerless (v.8), hypocritical (v.9-10) and our words reveal our true hearts (v.11). Jesus says in Matt 12:34 that out of the abundance of the heart, our mouth speaks. 

Our tongues make our life look bleak and grim. We deserve to be punished for the hurt we have caused with our words. 

Maybe you are hurt today because of the words of others. How will we experience healing from these deep wounds? How can we break the cycle of vengeance and bitterness? 

How will our tongues and hearts experience healing? And where will we get the power for using our words to bless others? 

In v.2, James refers to the perfect man who never sins with his words and is able to control his tongue. The perfect man never uses his tongue for destruction but only to bless. Who is this perfect man? It is Jesus! When people reviled and ridiculed Him, when Satan challenged Him in the wilderness, when the religious leaders scorned Him on the cross, Jesus never used His tongue to prove who He was. Rather He forgave and spoke the truth in love and held His tongue. Jesus did with His tongue what we can never do, so that we can now, through Christ, use our tongue in ways we were powerless to do so before. The gospel heals our tongue. It gives us a new heart, new life and new power.