Watch the untamable!

Key text: James 3:3-10

In his time, James, the apostle, may have marveled at how easily man could tame and ride on a horse or guide a ship (against all fierce winds). Today, we marvel at how man could pilot an aeroplane or guide a rocket or a space ship into the atmosphere and right through into space. We marvel at how easily a teenager could learn to drive a van, how a 3-year-old could ride a bike. We can tame and teach our pets and even wild animals. Yet, despite all our great achievements in taming and controlling animals or electro-mechanical things, we find it difficult (if not impossible at times) to tame one little member of our body – the TONGUE. This small piece of meat wobbling back and forth between your teeth, with the sense of taste, is the most difficult element of the human body to control.

How many times do you think twice and wish you hadn’t said this or that? How many times do we lie or speak harshly to those we love? How many times do husbands depress their wives by failing to complement on their new hairstyle or a well-prepared meal? Or wives frustrate their husbands by not showing some verbal appreciation to their hard work or efforts to sustain the family? The vices of the tongue may be a result of something you said or something you didn’t say, which you should have said.

Strangely, as James put it, through the same tongue we curse and bless (James 3:6-10). The challenge is to avoid all malice that we can bring out by careless speech or words. In most cases, we find it easier to control the tongue at least once a week – at church. It could be because we become overcautious with what we speak or maybe it’s because we speak less at church and listen more to someone else sermonizing. I believe it’s more likely the case because we are conscious of God’s holy presence. But once we’re out and into our normal routines, we jest, we joke, we tease, we shout, we yell and say all the things we would have otherwise not said had we stayed alert and conscious of the presence of God. And Christ reminds us to be careful for “every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matt. 12:36).

David prayed that “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer” (Psalms 19:14). This should be yours and my prayer every day and every hour.