“And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity (sin) so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth, that on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell” (James 3:6).

James begins chapter 3 speaking of the many animals man has been able to control, such as bits in a horse’s mouth turn the horse in the desired direction, ships are controlled by a small helm, but the human tongue often goes untamed. The tongue is like “fire” a little small blaze can destroy a lot of property. Our tongue is a very small member of our body; however, the potential for danger great. My friend, what makes the tongue of man so untamable? The tongue can be full of unrighteousness and wrongdoings. The tongue is full of sin (iniquity); it has the potential to speak falsehood and filth. The tongue can be smooth as butter and sharp as a knife. How can such a small member of the human body have such power to control our destiny? “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil., full of deadly poison” (v.8). The greatest of men have succumbed to the power of the tongue. We often say things we end up regretting; most of the time, as soon as the words have parted our lips, we regret the unruly tongue. “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessings and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be” (v.10). May we pray together this morning that God would control our tongue and that our tongue would be given the power to build up and not tear down. May our tongue be used for lifting up our brothers/sisters; may our tongue be used to encourage and not discourage. May our tongue be used to praise God and thank Him for His many blessings. Father, I pray for our readers this morning to submit our thinking and the words we speak to the Holy Ghost. May we speak life and not death; may we speak blessings and not curses in the life of those we come in contact with. Be Blessed in Jesus’ Name!