Good morning! According to Proverbs 18:21, “Death &
life are in the power of the tongue.”
That means that every time you speak, you are either taking your words
and your relationships into a "life direction" or a “death direction.” What direction are you words taking today? As
we get into our James study today, we will see how vital it is for us to have
Spirit-controlled speech instead of out-of-control words that destroy.
As you read today's passage,
look for these words or phrases: teachers, horses, ships, tongue
and fire.
Passage for the
day: James 3:1-6 (NASB)
1 Let
not many of you become
teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.
2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in
what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.
3 Now if we put the bits into the horses’
mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well.
4 Look at the ships also, though they are
so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small
rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.
5 So also the tongue is a small part of the
body, and yet it boasts of
great things. See how great a forest is
set aflame by such a small fire!
6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is
set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire
the course of our life, and is
set on fire by hell.
Questions for thought: Take a few
moments to answer these questions before you go on to the next section.
Why are teachers held to a stricter judgment?
Why are teachers held to a stricter judgment?
Look at
the examples of horses and ships in verses 3-4.
You can bridle and lead horse, and you can steer, but how do you bridle
or control your tongue?
James uses the example of a little fire that starts out
small, but quickly turns into a blaze that destroys and wreaks havoc on
anything in its path. How can someone
use their tongue to do this kind of damage to others? In other words, what are your words capable
of doing?
Read verse 6 again.
What is the tongue compared to?
What is it capable of doing to you?
MEDITATE ON THIS:
James begins the third chapter by talking about
those who desire to teach. He is not
telling us that desiring to teach is wrong or sinful – only that those who
teach are going to be held accountable by God.
We know that all of us will be held accountable by God for our lives,
but James’ message here is those who teach will be judged with even greater severity.
But what kind of judgment, you may ask? We are left without an answer, since James
does not say. However, it serves as a
warning shot to all of us who are teaching the Word of God – God is not absent,
but is watching us and will keep us accountable.
The next statement is all-inclusive: everyone
stumbles and sins in many ways, falling short of what is taught and required
by the Lord. This statement balances the warning of the previous verse. Even
teachers stumble at times – as well as those who do not teach. James wants us to keep all of this in
perspective so that we will learn control our tongues.
This leads us into the next section, which contains
some very powerful and graphic illustrations of the tongue. The tongue is compared to a ship and a horse. A controlled tongue is like the bit under
the horse’s tongue by which the rider controls the entire horse. Just as the
rider can control the horse, the body’s willfulness and appetites can be
controlled. Though a horse is much larger than a human being, the rider is able
to make the horse obey by employing a small, simple device.
The bringing under control of a very large object
by a small but effective instrument hardly could have been better expressed
than by the analogy of the ship and the rudder. Against the wind an immense,
rudderless boat is uncontrollable. Out on the sea, without a mechanism for
steering, the pilot would have no way of keeping the ship on any course. The
ship would be tossed and driven with the wind and the waves. But with the
rudder, the will of the pilot is sufficient to direct the ship.
James pointed to the small size of the rudder. Like
the small bit in the horse’s mouth, the rudder, James said, is among the
smallest of instruments on the ship. The rudder’s size is insignificant by
comparison to the rest of the parts of the ship. The effectiveness of the
instrument is what counts. Even in the harshest winds the boat will turn in the
direction the pilot desires. The tongue, representing the believer’s speech,
is not easily mastered. But the tongue must be mastered by acquiring the great
skills of wisdom through careful and diligent study of God’s Word. Only by such
study can the skill to face the great issues of life be obtained.
However, as James tells us, if our tongue is
uncontrolled and left to do as it pleases, evil speech will result. As such, evil speech proves its true nature
as an extension of hell itself! In a most powerful image, the fire that is
the little tongue, a little spark that causing great fires and destruction, has
its source from the wickedness of hell.
This should cause us to re-evaluate our speech and how we are using our
tongues. Just as the tongue has the
power to destroy, it also has great power to build up and encourage!
How are you using your tongue today? Let’s seek to use our tongues to build each
other up instead of using them to destroy!
Praying for that you would Love Christ
PASSIONATELY, Know Christ DEEPLY, and Enjoy Christ FULLY!!!
Pastor Stephen
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