Tongue-Tied Part 1

James 3:1-12 “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.”

Pastor Kyle takes up again in his study through the book of James, telling us that Father God trains all of His children to tame their tongues, notes and emails. Original sin and its associated sinful flesh desires is real and held in check by walking in the Spirit – Galatians 5. Generational sin is real also, but can be overcame and reversed … and the Lord will help. Sometimes, you open up the Bible and it slaps you in the face with just what you need to hear. We all have moments when we wonder if God is watching and listening, then He reveals himself to us. Promises are great, but actions are greater. What we do with us lives counts and results from action.

Matthew 15:16-18 So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.”

Our tongue problem is really a heart problem. We need to work on the parts of our faith that are not where God would want them to be. No human being can tame the tongue (vs.8). Honor is great, when it comes from God; not man. This is a counter-intuitive, up-side-down principle in our day and age. Teachers are important to unpack the Scriptures. Words are powerful and affect people, but once you say something, you can never unsay it. The tongue can be the great destroyer of lives. It directs our destination like a little steering wheel that controls the whole car’s travel and quality of the journey. The direction of our journey that we are headed, ultimately determines our destination. 

We'll see what Pastor Kyle has to say about taming the tongue tomorrow.
In Christ, Brian