James 3:6

"And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell" (James 3:6).

James continues his exposition on taming the tongue by speaking candidly regarding the pure evil it contains. He does not shy away in the slightest, using strong language and claiming it is set on fire by hell. Yet I wonder what our immediate reaction is when we read this verse. Are we shocked by the powerful verbiage James uses, or does it come as no surprise at all to us? And is our reaction based more upon our own heart or the behavior of those around us? 

It goes without saying that our tongue is a powerful weapon. Those who come from a verbally abusive background can attest to the power of words. But do our words necessarily have to be vulgar or offensive to be classified as evil? Certainly justifying sin, blame shifting, gossip, false accusations, sexual innuendos, unrighteous anger, inappropriate sarcasm, etc., all convey a sinful message in their own right. Moreover, our nonverbal communication cannot be excluded from this discussion either, even though James is specifically addressing the tongue. Bottom-line, how we communicate is wicked in many ways, and the tongue is a match we can ignite at any moment if we so choose.

So what is the remedy? Obviously, self-control is key, but understanding the reality of our fallen self is just as important. We must recognize before we open our mouths to start a fire that we are not slaves to our flesh. We no longer have to obey what comes natural. We can choose to restrain our tongue because our identity is in Christ. He paid our ransom and brought us back from hell itself through His shed blood. Therefore, we are not subject to any master other than Jesus who gives us freedom to choose righteousness over sin.

The formula is not hard to understand, but it is extremely difficult to apply because our flesh is constantly at war with the Spirit who dwells in our hearts. Because at our fleshly core we desire to submit to our cravings for control, even though we have the power of the Holy Spirit willing and able to show us a way of escape.

James is not minimizing anything in this verse. He is calling a spade a spade because sometimes we need a dose of blunt reality to wake us up from our status-quo slumber. And if we take to heart the severity of what the tongue is capable of, perhaps we will use more wisdom and discretion in how we speak to others. Our application of Scripture demands it if we claim to be Christ-followers.

For if we do not exude self-control through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are no different than the world around us and the saving faith we testify to is diminished because our works do not reflect heart change. If we want to change the world, a good place to start is in the mirror with a serious emphasis on the tongue and the fire it can start if we don't contain it. If not, perhaps we need to re-read this verse and reevaluate our position.