November 4, James 3

Key Verse:


"The 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."

(James 3:6)


Central Truth:

Only the power of the Holy Spirit, God himself, is strong enough to tame the tongue.


Whoa . . . After reading this chapter I wanted to just go get a knife and cut out my tongue! I mean seriously . . . this is pretty strong! Not just this little chapter, but pretty much all of James, not to mention the many other statements of how poisonous our tongues are in scripture.

Being a girl, I have to admit this is something I have struggled with as long as I can remember. I will never forget my 2 girl friends in the 4th grade; when all three of us were together we would always somehow team-up, two against one. I guess that is where the term "3 is a crowd" rings true. There was a "file" just for the 3 of us, and during recess we would have to stay inside, sit with the counselor, and discuss how we could be kinder with our words to each other. Ugh . . . I could not stand having to do that. I just wanted to be friends with these girls, and I did whatever I had to in order for them to like me. Sad, but oh so true - even among adults today!

When you really take a look at this verse, and the entire chapter, it mentions that the tongue "corrupts the whole person" and "sets the course of his life on fire." WOW! That is scary. Just to think that the little tongue in your mouth can determine what all of creation thinks of you, where your life will go, and who it will impact.

Years ago, as my walk with Christ really began to take off, I was greatly convicted about this area of my life and how some changes needed to be made. I knew my desire was to grow spiritually, but there were a few things keeping me from progressing to that "next level." The progression went a little like this: (Maybe, you might see yourself in this explanation.)I was friends with a large group that would always talk about other people, and they were pretty critical. I would usually join in and, as sick as it is, would be secretly "happy" when something bad would happen to the person or people we were talking about. This went on for years, and then God began to really convict me about this. After the conviction, I continued to hang-out with this group but would try to not "join in" the conversation. I would just shake my head or smile rather than contribute to the conversation. This plan continued; but, of course, it would fail from time to time. It was not until later that God REALLY began to speak to me about "guilt by association." You see, this verse speaks right to that. Your gossip can corrupt your entire being, and if you are hanging out with those "beings," it really does not matter if you are contributing or not. You will be attached to that kind of behavior no matter how hard you try to not contribute.

As difficult as it is to admit all of this, it is even more difficult to try and control it all by myself. In verse 8 it says, "no man can tame the tongue." Let me say that again, "NO MAN CAN TAME THE TONGUE." It is ONLY through the power of God himself that we can tame our tongues. If it is your desire to use your tongue to encourage and build-up rather than to gossip and tear down, then ask God to give you His power to do so. In my case, God picked me up and completely moved me away from the situation I was in. It was like He said (after I begged for His help), "Here you go my love; here is a do-over."

God has blessed me with amazing friends who really do love and encourage each other with their words. Every time we meet for coffee or lunch, we remind ourselves to make Ephesian 4:29 ("Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only that which is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.") our rule. Memorize that one my friends, it is one you can use forever!! Begin today by asking God to give you the power of the Holy Spirit to tame your tongue. Of course, perfection is difficult to attain, but that is why we have God's grace to cover those areas of imperfection. So, put your knife down, and instead get on your knees. It is a much better solution to taming our tiny little tongues!