The tongue is a little muscle, but its power and influence for good or bad, is out of proportion to its size.
In Scripture, James spends quite a bit of ink talking about our words. He says that by controlling our tongue, this one little muscle, we bridle our whole body. He gives 2 analogies to show us the impact our tongue has on our lives. First, he talks about a horse and bridle. He states that once a bit is placed in the horse’s mouth, the bridle controls the entire horse. In the same way, a ship, though mighty, and propelled through the seas by strong winds, is really just controlled and steered by a small rudder. So it is with the tongue. It steers our whole life. It’s a small muscle but it controls the direction of our lives.
James’ point is that we need to realize that our words have great power – his emphasis here is on destructive power. He makes yet another comparison. In James 3:6, he compares the tongue to a fire, a very world of evil. Our words can corrupt us from the inside out, setting the whole course of our lives on fire. And the source of the destruction? Hell itself.
In James 3:8, he calls the tongue a restless evil, full of deadly poison. He sums it all up by saying, “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people, who have been made in the likeness of God; 1rom the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way.” James 3:9-10 NASB
Is anyone here guilty, besides me? The Living Bible says it this way: “And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Dear brothers, this is not right!” The same tongue that sings praises to God, blesses His name, turns around, and curses those made in His image. It sanders them, criticizes and accuses them. The tongue is notoriously inconsistent.
I think that what all of us need to realize is that we are all walking through life carrying a concealed weapon. All we have to make it unconcealed is to begin to talk. My question is simply this: How careful are you with your weapon? Is it always loaded, and cocked, and ready to fire? Are you careful with it in some settings but careless in others; careful with some people but careless with others? We must begin to control our tongues and the things we say, or it will cost us deeply.