Have you ever been in an organization, church, club, or classroom where there was one person that tried to totally control the situation? In a classroom, it seemed the teacher had no control over this person. Even the other students yielded their attention to this person. When I taught school, this is the kind of person I feared having in my classroom. In many cases, I’ve seen Satan plant people like this in the church. They seem to have their own agenda and continue to work on their own behalf. As we read this we are probably thinking of someone like these two people. Guess what? We have a member like that in our own body! It’s our tongue!
James 3:1-4 “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offends not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.”
James makes it very clear that our tongue is an unruly member! In verse one we see that in this assembly many wanted to teach. The word masters in this passage mean teachers. James warns them of the responsibilities and consequences of teaching. In verse one those who teach will receive greater condemnation. In other words, we are held accountable for every word we teach. We also will be held accountable for the areas we avoid in the word of God. In Romans 1:18 we are instructed to give the whole counsel of God. Therefore, we must live it because it is a hypocrite that teaches something he does not live. While he was instructing those in the church that wanted to publicly teach this applies to all of us because we all are teaching by our words and conduct.
The next verse gets to the heart of this text, our words! Words are powerful, a person can be destroyed with words or they can be empowered with words. James connects sins of the tongue with sins committed by the whole body. Our words lead to our deeds. James gives us examples of small things that control large things. Our first illustrations are a bit and a rudder.
As a young person, I loved horses. I grew up on a farm, and of all the animals we owned, our horse was my favorite. We even had a mule for many years that liked me as much as I liked him. I was the only one he would allow to ride him. We had pigs, cows, and chickens, but I did not like any of those. I never felt I had any control over any of them. They did as they pleased most of the time. It was never an easy task to get these three species to do as I needed them to do, but our mule and horse were different. When they were harnessed I could lead them anywhere! When I rode them, it took very little effort to direct them where I wanted them to go. The largest beast on the farm was the easiest to control. Why, because of a small bit placed in the horse’s mouth. This huge animal was controlled by a tiny piece of metal connected to a string of leather.
A small rudder or helm enables the captain to steer a large ship. It goes wherever he directs it to go. I don’t know much about ships, but I do know they can be massive. Some can weigh as much as 600,000 tons when fully loaded! This kind of size and capacity is beyond my comprehension.
These two examples are comparable to the tongue in that both must overcome contrary forces, and both determine the direction of the object to which they are connected. Once we are saved we become a new creature, but the old is still hanging around waiting for an opportunity to show its self still present. Only Jesus can give us the answers to maintain control of our tongue. First, we must allow him to control our heart and our mind. One must first think something before it is said. We may not be able to keep a thought from crossing our mind, but we do not have to let it take residence. When a wrong thought crosses our mind at that point we must put the new man in control. The greatest way to do this is to remember what the Bible teaches in the area we are thinking about. That is why it is so important to study the Bible, it allows us to gain proper ammunition to battle this small, but powerful enemy, the tongue!
Psalm 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
The person who can control his tongue is proving he is spiritually mature. When controlling the unruliest member of the body we show we are able to control the whole body!
