James 3:4-8 “Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. 7For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”
The tongue helps us or hurts us. We heal or we damage by the words we speak. The tongue is compared in this chapter to a rudder of a ship. The direction of that ship, as large as it is, is under the control of that very small rudder. Your life is controlled by the rudder in your mouth. If you don’t like the direction you’re heading in, change what’s rolling off the tongue.
Verses 9 and 10 continue the teaching concerning the tongue: “With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” The words from the tongue reveal the shallowness or depth of the individual. A person that has experienced brokenness and therefore has met God, will speak differently than an unbroken life. Praising God on Sunday and cursing on Monday “ought not to be so” (verse 10).
If you’re having tongue trouble here is a great prayer to pray from Psalm
141:3 – “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.” Purpose in your heart today to speak only those things that will bless others and bring positive direction to your life. Paul had this in mind in Ephesians 4:29 – “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” People are listening…God is listening…your future is listening.