James 2:18-3:18 – Tame Your Tongue

They say that the average person spends about 20% of his life talking, and if you are like most people, you talk enough in a week to fill a 400 page book.  That’s a lot of words!  The content of these words describes the person.  As the tongue is used by a nurse to take a patient’s temperature, so it can also be used to gauge a person’s spiritual temperature. 

James compares the tongue to a rudder on a ship.  I recently purchased a large inflatable kayak.  It came without a rudder-like control which had to be purchased separately.  Without that rudder, my kayak was out of control and kept going in circles.  It eventually got where I wanted it to, but in circular motions.  Everyone on the lake was staring as I tried to steer my kayak back to shore while I was spinning in circles.  How embarrassing!  I was surprised at how one little thing could make such a difference.

Likewise, many of us find our lives going in circles.  We are going in the right direction, but in circular motions of making mistakes, offending people, and struggling with sin.  We would be embarrassed if someone ever wrote down every word we said.  We must learn to control our words.  It’s not an easy task, but it is possible.  Thinking twice before an emotional outburst and choosing our words carefully will help us control the direction of our lives.  There’s a reason why the Bible places gossip and slander in the same category as murder and adultery.  Words have power and we must learn to harness the power and not to be consumed by it.

Matthew White