FROM TODAY'S READING...
"Just as an old-fashioned doctor examined a patient’s tongue to assist in diagnosis, so James tests a person’s spiritual health by his or her conversation. Self-diagnosis begins with sins of speech. James would agree with the modern wit who said, 'Watch your tongue. It’s in a wet place where it’s easy to slip!'"
William MacDonald (1917-2007)
President of Emmaus Bible College
James 3:2-12 (NLT) Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.
Image: CC (edited from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_physician_examines_a_patient%27s_tongue_Wellcome_V0011741.jpg)
