For Good or Ill

May 24

In James 3:5 the half-brother of Jesus makes a remarkable assertion. He says, “The tongue is a little member that boasts great things and has the potential to kindle a great fire.” Other than the appendix, no part of the body has the ability to go from being neutral to exerting great harm as much as does the tongue.

And while the tongue possesses the power to bless, as James goes on to say in 3:10, he does identify its ability to curse, to cause emotional or spiritual death, much as the appendix can cause physical death. Recognizing the great disparity in the uses of the tongue, should we not exercise great care in how we use it?

Should we not resolve to use it to bless and not to curse; to generate life and not death? Should we not recognize the tremendous opportunity the Lord has given us to encourage the discouraged and to strengthen the weak when we use our tongues to lift them up, to gird them with hope?

Beyond what we can do in the behalf of others by using our tongues for the purposes of the Lord, we are told by Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived that, “He who guards his tongue keeps himself from calamity,” Proverbs 21:23. When we choose to employ our tongues for ungodly purposes, we ultimately bring disaster upon ourselves.