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An Untamed Tongue
James bluntly observed, “But no one can tame the tongue” (James 3:8a). That does not mean we don’t need to even try! On the contrary, it means we must work even harder at it. To understand why, consider James’s seven-fold description of an untamed tongue: “And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison” (3:6-8).
An untamed tongue. . .
Is a fire. Fire can be beneficial, but James is thinking of its destructive force: “See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!” (v. 5b). A forest fire can destroy in minutes a home that took months to build and years to pay for. Out-of-control tongues scorch just as efficiently.
Is the very world of iniquity, “the embodiment of all wrong” (Lenski). It expresses every wrong thought,
motive, feeling, intent, and action, and it often camouflages these evils in innocent-sounding or even commendatory terms.
Defiles the entire body. It is like a cancer that spreads throughout the body. In reality an uncontrolled tongue is but a spokesman for an uncontrolled heart (see Matthew 15:18-20).
Sets on fire the course of our life. This expression, literally “the wheel of genesis,” evidently refers to the whole of our existence, whether thought of chronologically, from birth to death, or as affecting every aspect of life and its interaction with others.
Is set on fire by hell. The word hell refers to the place of eternal punishment, which the Bible often depicts as a place of burning. Thus, the flames of hell inflame the tongue’s fire, and hell awaits those who let it rage out of control. James may well be using hell by metonymy for Satan, for whom hell is especially prepared (Matthew 25:41).
Is a restless evil. The word restless here is the same as unstable in 1:8. The tongue is always anxious to act and often acts in inconsistent ways.
Is full of deadly poison. Would a brother or sister turn a rattlesnake loose in church? That would be more memorable than the day the mouse hurriedly visited our adult Bible class. We wouldn’t dream of it! James’s point is that those who turn venomous tongues loose are every bit as lethal.
