Articles
A Little Member with a Big Effect
At the beginning of his discussion of controlling our tongues, James makes two vital observations.
First, tongue-control must be part of broader self-control. “For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well” (3:2). The point of this verse is not merely that the tongue is the most difficult body member to control, though that may well be. The tongue is simply a spokesman; that being the case, we cannot hope to control it when other aspects of our lives are not what they should be.
Are you having trouble with angry words? Work on your temper, your patience. Trouble with false words? Since lying is often coverup, keep the rest of your life clean, and eliminate greed or envy or pride or other motives to lie. Trouble with foul language? You may need to stop up your ears! Trouble with saying presumptuous things? Quit fault-finding or judging from insufficient evidence. Trouble with not knowing what to say? Maybe you need to learn to care more.
Second, we must respect the tongue’s vast potential, which is disproportionate to it size. James offers three parallels. “Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!” (vv. 3-5).
Though small, bridles, rudders, and sparks can have great effects. Skillfully managed, they convert what otherwise would be useless or even dangerous into productive means. A horse might pull your load or trample you to death. A ship might safely convey masses or sink with “titanic” losses. Managed is the key. Pilots and riders must know when to act, to what extent, in what direction, and just as importantly, when to stop. A calm, steady demeanor works best. Speakers require the same skill set!
The tongue has marvelous potential for good. With it we can teach, encourage, inspire, advise, warn, heal, comfort, stand for right, or just brighten someone’s day. Of course, it has just as much potential for harm. Wrongly used it can promote error, discourage, enrage, divide, defame, crush, incite to evil, etc. Either effect is the product of our use of it; tongues don’t operate by themselves!
One more thing. Everything James says about our physical tongues applies equally to our “electronic tongues”—our posts, likes, tweets, etc.— which potentially have even broader reach.
