Bible Reading
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
James 3:3-6
James 3:3-6
Devotional
What do bits, rudders, and sparks all have in common? Today's passage from James not only tells us the answer but makes a powerful connection between these three common things and a vital spiritual truth we would all be wise to learn and live by.
A bit in the mouth of a horse allows the rider to steer the horse where it should go. Even something as potentially wild, powerful, and unpredictable as a horse can be now under control and disciplined. The rudder of a ship may be small, but it allows a large ship that would otherwise drift aimlessly to have a determined and controlled course. A spark may also be small, but if left unguarded, it can quickly cause a fire that can rage destructively out of control. James uses these three pictures to wisely explain the power of the tongue. The first two visuals, the bit and rudder, tell us of the great potential of the tongue, its powers of persuasion, and how the tongue can be used as a tool for good, for guidance, and in the service of others. The third visual is that of a great forest fire and tells us how the tongue can also become a destructive force and set things in motion that would be better left undone.
The tongue may be small, but makes great boasts, tells great lies, and holds great influence. The truth is that words can be powerful forces for good or for evil but, words don't begin in the mouth. Words begin in the heart, and then the mind, and then overflow from your thoughts to your mouth. Our tongues do not have control over our minds, it is quite the opposite. Yet many people have allowed their unfiltered and undisciplined speech to determine the course of their life. They have lost control of their life because they have lost control of their tongue. It doesn't have to be this way, and we were not created to live at the mercy of an uncontrolled tongue, whether ours or someone else's. The point here is that each of us gets to decide what our speech will be. We choose what the overflow of our heart will be. Will the words you choose to say be a force and a tool for good... for building, encouraging, evangelizing, and speaking the will of God, or will your speech be a force and tool for evil; for destruction, anger, bitterness, hatred, mocking, gossip, and prideful boasts? That depends on what is filling and overflowing out of your heart.
Never before have we needed this practical advice more than we do right now. We are living in a world of undisciplined, destructive, and manipulative speech. Now more than ever, the tongue has divided mankind into warring factions, hateful mud-slingers, slanderers and deceiving agents of spiritual darkness. We speak first and think about what we've said later after the damage has been done. But it doesn't have to be this way. Your tongues and the words you say can be reclaimed as weapons for God's Kingdom. Scripture gives us instructions for speaking with wisdom, discernment, truth, and love. God's word tells us how our hearts can be remade and molded in the image of Christ so that the mind of Christ and the words of Christ are expressed every time we open our mouths.
A bit in the mouth of a horse allows the rider to steer the horse where it should go. Even something as potentially wild, powerful, and unpredictable as a horse can be now under control and disciplined. The rudder of a ship may be small, but it allows a large ship that would otherwise drift aimlessly to have a determined and controlled course. A spark may also be small, but if left unguarded, it can quickly cause a fire that can rage destructively out of control. James uses these three pictures to wisely explain the power of the tongue. The first two visuals, the bit and rudder, tell us of the great potential of the tongue, its powers of persuasion, and how the tongue can be used as a tool for good, for guidance, and in the service of others. The third visual is that of a great forest fire and tells us how the tongue can also become a destructive force and set things in motion that would be better left undone.
The tongue may be small, but makes great boasts, tells great lies, and holds great influence. The truth is that words can be powerful forces for good or for evil but, words don't begin in the mouth. Words begin in the heart, and then the mind, and then overflow from your thoughts to your mouth. Our tongues do not have control over our minds, it is quite the opposite. Yet many people have allowed their unfiltered and undisciplined speech to determine the course of their life. They have lost control of their life because they have lost control of their tongue. It doesn't have to be this way, and we were not created to live at the mercy of an uncontrolled tongue, whether ours or someone else's. The point here is that each of us gets to decide what our speech will be. We choose what the overflow of our heart will be. Will the words you choose to say be a force and a tool for good... for building, encouraging, evangelizing, and speaking the will of God, or will your speech be a force and tool for evil; for destruction, anger, bitterness, hatred, mocking, gossip, and prideful boasts? That depends on what is filling and overflowing out of your heart.
Never before have we needed this practical advice more than we do right now. We are living in a world of undisciplined, destructive, and manipulative speech. Now more than ever, the tongue has divided mankind into warring factions, hateful mud-slingers, slanderers and deceiving agents of spiritual darkness. We speak first and think about what we've said later after the damage has been done. But it doesn't have to be this way. Your tongues and the words you say can be reclaimed as weapons for God's Kingdom. Scripture gives us instructions for speaking with wisdom, discernment, truth, and love. God's word tells us how our hearts can be remade and molded in the image of Christ so that the mind of Christ and the words of Christ are expressed every time we open our mouths.