A Tongue Of Fire

I was just reading James 3, where he is talking about the tongue. Its quite an interesting section of scripture.

James 3:5-10 NIV
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. [7] All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, [8] but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. [9] With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. [10] Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.

Verse 6 is actually a bit startling - "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." The significance of our words, brought to life by our tongue, and these days email and text, is huge. Our words truly can affect our whole lives. I think of the fact that jobs are often won or lost based on the verbal interview. Our words reveal out thoughts and what is in our hearts. As Jesus says in Matthew 15:18 NIV "But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them."

Clearly the encouragement today is to be very careful of what we speak, guarding our tongue. I am reminded of a funny DQ commercial for a very spicy burger, where the man takes a bite, then wipes his mouth with a paper napkin. The napkin starts on fire, and gets worse when he blows on it, because fire is coming out of his mouth. I think this describes perfectly what James is writing about - our mouth, our words can enflame, can start fires, can cause pain and destruction to ourselves and those around us. We would be wise to closely guard our words, in all there forms, and make sure that which is coming forth from us is life giving.

Lord help us!