Taming the Venomous Beast
James 3:1-12
James 3:1-12
Do you like tongue twisters? The tongue is a very powerful member of the body. It is powerful for good and evil. James talks about teachers in verse 1. He says that teachers need to be careful because they will be judged harsher than two people just having a regular conversation. Teachers lead and teach people with their words. We all have tongue troubles, though. James gives eight things that a tongue is like. It's like a . . .
- Horse. The average horse weighs about 800-1200 pounds. It is a giant animal, yet with one piece of metal the size between your thumb and forefinger it can completely tame the horse. The tongue controls the entire body like the bit controls the horse.
- Ship's rudder. A regular ship in James' time was about 1200-1500 tons. That giant ship is controlled by a simple piece of wood. The rudder directs the entire ship. The tongue directs the entire body.
- Fire. An entire fire is started by just one little spark. An entire fire with our words starts with one word.
- Animals. This is where animals and the tongue are different. All animals can be trained. Maybe you've been to the zoo. You see all sorts of animals behind bars. You see the monkeys, lions, bears, snakes; you see all sorts of weird and wonderful animals. Have you ever seen a tongue behind bars at the zoo? Of course you haven't! That's because the tongue can't be tamed!
- Poison. The tongue is a venomous beast. It spews poison. It's words can be deadly. The tongue is incredibly dangerous.
- This is the ultimate hypocrisy. In one breath, we praise and worship God at church. Then, we go home and start yelling at one another. We praise God and curse men in the same breath. The tongue is the heart of it all.
- Pond. Maybe you have a pond in your backyard. Unless you live on the ocean, that pond is most likely fresh water. You wouldn't go out and jump in one day and taste salt, would you? No! Of course not!
- Apple tree. Let's pretend you have a big, lush apple tree in your backyard. You love to pick apples from it and sink your teeth into it's ripe flesh. One day you go and pick an apple from the tree. You take a bite of it and find out that it's a pear, not an apple. That would never happen, though! But a tongue is just like this.