“Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!” James 3:4-5 KJV
Someone once said, ” The tongue has no bones, but is strong enough to break a heart. So be careful with your words.” How true. If even James, the half-brother of Jesus, affirmed this truth in his letter some 2000 years ago to Jewish believers dispersed in the face of difficulties, it’s time we recognize the power of the tongue.
Though the helm of a ship is very small — it steers the course of a great and mighty ship. Your tongue can direct the course of your life. In crisis, it is critical to crush pride and surrender to God. Choose to say what God says. Choose to say what His Word declares in His Word. Pray. Seek His Face. Meditate on His Word and pursue Christ both day and night.
Joshua 1:7 KJV declares, “Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.” Be strong. Have confidence in God. Have faith in Christ’s Way of doing things. Let Christ lead and guide your decisions. Let Christ lead and guide your actions.
James 1:8 KJV declares, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” A double minded man, or woman, who chooses not to follow God’s Way of doing things — will become unstable. A man, or woman, who is torn between following their flesh over submitting to God’s Way of doing things — is unstable. Let your leadership decisions in crisis reflect the Heart and Character of God. Let His Peace cover your words. Let His Grace lead your actions. Season your words with His Love.
“A tongue has no bones, but it’s already strong enough to break a heart, and we can’t take back the words we’ve spoken or heal the wounds we’ve made, so be careful with your words.”
~Socrates
Today’s Action:
1. Watch your tongue because it has great power for good
The body tends to follow where the tongue leads. So, if you were to control your tongue, you would be perfectly self-controlled. James quite rightly reassures us in verse 2 that none of us are perfect and we all get things wrong, especially in the words we say. But imagine if you never said anything wrong! How brilliant would it be if your words were always uplifting, always challenging, always loving, always kind? Imagine the good you could do in the world! In fact, you would be like Jesus. Sadly, although James gives us something wonderful to aspire to, the tongue more commonly directs us into boasting and evil.
2. Watch your tongue because it has great power for evil: the “mouth speaks what the heart is full of”. Our tongues are evil because our hearts are evil. Our tongues show our desperate, sinful state before God, and how badly we need Jesus to come and change us. The good news is, as we will discover in other parts of the Bible: that’s just what Jesus is all about.
Today’s Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the warnings Your Word gives about the devastation that unguarded words can have. Help me to keep my tongue under control, being slow to speak but quick to listen. May the words that I speak and the meditation of my heart be always acceptable to You, my God and my Saviour. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.
hope14me.org 