Be Careful What You Say

Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 

                                                                                      (James 3:4-8 KJV)

For good or for bad the tongue can set the course of our futures.

James compares the tongue to a ship's rudder.

Although, small in comparison to the rest of the ship the rudder steers the ship. Likewise what proceeds from our mouths can have a great effect on our futures as well as the futures of those around us.

James also compares our tongues to fire. The humongous fires out west and north of us have had some serious effects on the people around the country. The air we breathe has become difficult to breathe at times especially for those who have asthma or allergies or other like diseases. Who even know why these fires start? Some start from lightning strikes. Some are accidental. Others are started by arsonists. The fires spread out. The smoke moves through the air directly affecting people even a thousand miles away. The smoke dissipates and travel around the globe. Fires affect more than just the people who are in their immediate vicinity.

Likewise our tongues can start some major fires. The evil; the lies, that we speak can spread like wildfire harming not just the people that we intend to harm; but, can have a lasting negative effect on people all around us and sometimes world-wide depending on who is spreading the evil. If it is the national media then the wildfire can spread pretty far and fast.

The words that we speak can have a positive or negative effect on the community. May God help us to control our tongues so that we do not steer the ship in the wrong direction or purposely start any wildfires in order to harm others.

God's Peace - Pr. J.