James 3:1-12 

“When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.”

• 3 metaphors
  • Horse’s bit
    • Steers powerful muscular animal
    • Only weighs about a pound
      • Average horse is 930 lb., so .1% of total weight
    • The one that controls the bit controls the horse
    • The one that controls the tongue controls where we steer our lives and affect others
  • Ship’s rudder
    • 20 tons, 40,000 pounds, but total weight of cargo ship is over a few hundred thousand tons, so 5-10% of weight
    • Rudder steers the ship
    • Tongue steers our relationships, how we carry ourselves, help others
  • Spark of a fire
    • Tiny but can destroy an entire forest
    • One negative comment to someone can ruin their entire day, week, even longer
    • One positive comment can do the same, and might even change someone’s trajectory of their life
• Use of tongue
  • Positive
    • Praise our Lord and Father
    • Lift others up
  • Negative
    • Curse human beings
    • Tear others down, can be full of deadly poison
  • Both fresh water and salt water can’t flow from the same spring, fig trees can’t bear olives, grapevine can’t grow figs, we can’t Praise God with our tongue then later use it to hurt others or gossip
    • We aren’t perfect, we are human, we make mistakes, just remember that words make such a huge difference
      • James says no human can tame the tongue
      • This is where we turn to God
        • Prayer
        • Forgiveness
    • Same tongue used for praying to God should be used for building others up
      • We never know what people are going through
      • Never know what one negative comment does to someone
      • On the flip side, we never know what one positive comment does to someone and how it can change their day
• Lead the horse the right way, steer the ship the right way, “only you can prevent wildfires” -Smokey the Bear
  • Control your tongue, and use to build others up, not tear them down.