May 19 – Taming a Destroyer (James 3:1-12)

“The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person.” (James 3:6)

IN WORD:
Every summer, the news story is repeated. Someone in the western United States fails to completely put out a campfire, and from a single ember, a forest blazes. Firefighters battle the consuming enemy from ground and air, and governments spare no expense to extinguish it, but it is relentless. There is virtually no stopping a raging forest fire until the rains come. Before they do, millions of acres are destroyed. And it all starts with one spark.
Such is the power of the tongue, says James. Words burn. Once they’ve ignited, there is no undoing them. The only way to prevent massive damage is to prevent the sparks that start it all. Once spoken, words cannot be unspoken. Combined with the gossip-prone nature of the human community, words spread rapidly. It is virtually impossible to put them out.
The tongue must be tamed. It’s destructive capabilities call for the utmost carefulness. It’s corruption spreads outward and it also works inward. Words not only distort the perception of others, they train our own minds to follow. A careless comment becomes a deeply held conviction all too quickly. There is no such thing as idle chatter. Words matter.

IN DEED:
How careful are you with your tongue? Biblical wisdom has much to teach us about the power of speech. Jesus said in Matthew 15:18, “The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean.” Words reveal our inner impurities, and those impurities may offend others. The childhood saying about sticks and stones simply isn’t true. Words can hurt.
Guard your tongues. They can set the whole course of your life, according to James. Anything with that kind of power must be tamed.

“Cold words freeze people, hot words scorch them, and bitter words make them bitter.” -Blaise Pascal-