Scripture Reference: James 3: 7-12

[7] People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, [8] but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. [9] Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. [10] And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! [11] Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? [12] Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.

Today we look at a condemning description of our tongue and one of the greatest sets of questions presented in this New Testament book.  First the description, and then, the questions.

James describes the tongue as an untamable, deadly part of our body.  All types of animals, even fish, can be trained to perform desired actions.  Our tongue, our speech, our words, cannot be tamed.  Our tongue is described as an unruly evil in the King James Version of this passage.  What we say reflects that unruly nature that resides in our hearts.  Remember that we speak what is in our hearts.

For example, one minute we praise God with our words, but the next minute, we are cursing mankind, who is made in the image of God.  If you need further proof of what James is telling his readers, all you have to do is follow people on social media.  One post will be scripture quotes with pretty sunsets.  The next post condemns someone in a political party as subversive and evil incarnate and follows their picture with alphabet soup representing profane exclamations.  This simply is not right.  This is a clear example of the unruly, untamable nature that appears in what we say.

It is this tendency to speak evil that causes our tongues to be like a deadly poison.  Condemning words have very destructive effects on those to whom they are directed.  When people, especially children, are constantly put down, derided, threatened and badgered, those negative statements contribute to poor self-images, poor interpersonal relationships and poor performance at home, at school, on the job, and even in recreational endeavors.  The evil found in the tongue can literally make people sick and can bring about the destruction of lives or property.

After this revealing description, James then asks three questions:  Can a spring of water be fresh and bitter at the same time?  Does a fig tree grow olives?  Can a grape vine produce figs?

The answers are all, “No!”  Since the answers support the obvious truth that the source determines the fruit, James is making a significant statement in this passage—if the fruit is evil, then the source is evil.

His statement that our speech should not possess praises and curses coming from the same mouth points not just to the unruly nature of the tongue, but also to the source of the speech.  He’s setting the readers up for what he is going to tell them in the next part of his letter.  We’ll look at that the next time we’re together.

Let’s pray that our speech does not reflect an evil source.