DEVOTION – DAY 322

James 3:8-10 “Taming The Tongue”

James 3:8-10 “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.”

There is evil that hides in every human being’s heart. That evil is revealed when a person is under stress, angered or provoked. When that happens, people give in to their natural instincts to shout, curse, swear in anger at those whom they have an offence with. James, the writer of these verses therefore reminds us that our tongues needs taming because it is a restless evil full of deadly poison. We use our tongues to sing praises to God. We also use the same tongues to curse and say hateful things to people. This is a sin because James reminds us in these verses that human beings are made in the likeness of God. To curse a fellow human being is to show contempt for God. Thus, Christians should show restraint when they are stressed, angry or provoked. They must refrain from giving in to the temptation to vent their feelings by using harsh words to scold or shout at others.

Many of us would have seen examples of road rage. Perhaps you have had a personal encounter with an incident of road rage. This is when there have been a traffic violation and drivers become angry and blame each other for near accidents. They will shout, scream and even fight with each other to give vent to their anger and frustrations. As a young Christian, I am ashamed to admit that I also gave in to road rage when I once shouted at someone who cut into my lane suddenly, causing me to brake and almost have an accident. But I now realize the truth in James 3, that as a child of God, I must learn to tame my tongue. I must learn not to swear and curse someone, even if it is in my mind, if they drive in a dangerous way and cause me to swerve or brake suddenly. I have to remind myself that with the same tongue, I praise God, I cannot use my tongue to curse or swear at others. I must show patience and forgiveness. 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word that reminds us of the need for us to tame our tongues. Please help us to learn to control our tongues and not use it to vent our anger and frustrations at others. Forgive us for the times we have failed in taming our tongues. We ask this in the wonderful name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. Have you experienced bad service before, or have been in a traffic incident? Share of a time when you lost your temper and scolded someone in anger. 
  2. Having read James 3:3-12, what steps have you taken to tame your tongue?
  3. Why must you learn to control your tongue and use it to encourage and not criticize others, to build people up, and not tear them down and so on? 
  4. Share some success stories of how you were able to control your tongue in stressful situations to encourage someone.