Taming the Tongue

James moves on from the heavy responsibility of teaching and the temptations of the tongue that may come with it to a general admonishment on taming the tongue. Like the tiny bit of a large horse, a small rudder of a great ship, or the seemingly insignificant first spark of a spreading wildfire so is the tongue in respect to the rest of the body. But the introduction of the fire demonstrates how destructive the tongue can be. In fact, James comes out of light similes and gives a firm statement that the tongue is fire. Like the carnal world can stain and infiltrate the church so can the tongue pollute the whole body in its sin.

The damage of the tongue can be far and wide: wrecking the trajectory of someone's life and even bring them to hell. One lie can ruin a person's entire life. Man has been able to subdue and tame every sort of beast as God ordained them to do in creation and yet man has never been able to tame the tongue. It remains wild, unstable, uncontrollable, restless like the tongue of serpent always hissing and expelling venom with each successive victim. But the true victim is the Lord. Many bless Him in song or ritual but when we curse our neighbor, we indirectly curse God Almighty.

James the Jerusalem Pastor tell them, as Christians, it shouldn't be this way anymore. As new creatures in Christ, by His Spirit, we can learn to control the tongue and seek maturity in our pure speech. And if we don't, we are like the double-minded man; now also double-tongued. But no one spring has sweet and bitter water. No tree produces a fruit other than its kind. So let us also, produce sweet water as those who have been given living waters by our Lord.