We hope everyone had a great thanksgiving celebration last week. Mental health counselors say that they are the busiest right after holidays. Unfortunately, when people get together things can either go bad or good; a lot of times this depends on how we use our tongue.
James 3:6-8
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.
Analogies of the tongue: James gives three analogies of the power of the tongue: (1) A horse is a powerful animal that is hard to control but we are able to control where it goes with a small horse bit. (2) A big ship is controlled by a small rudder. (3) A great wildfire can be started by a tiny little spark.
Control your tongue and you control the rest of your body: In the same way, our tongue may be small compared to the rest of our body but by controlling it, we get to control the rest of our body. However, as James mentions in v8 no human being can tame the tongue. Therefore, we can only do this with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Use your tongue to edify others: There is a reason why God gave us two ears and one mouth. God wants us to listen more than we talk. And whenever we do talk, He wants us to use it to build others up and encourage them rather than tear them down. Let us use our mouth to help others become more like Christ and in the process it’ll help us become more like Christ.
～Min. David Or 柯啟洋傳道～
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