FEBRUARY 16, 2015
Taming The
Untamable
No man can tame the tongue. —James 3:8
Read: James 3:1-12
From Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs to Siberian foxes, humans have
learned to tame wild animals. People enjoy teaching monkeys to “act” in
commercials or training deer to eat out of their hands. As the apostle James
put it, “Every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is
tamed and has been tamed by mankind” (3:7).
But there is something we cannot tame. All of us have trouble
getting a little thing called the tongue under control. “No man can tame the
tongue,” James tells us (v.8).
Why? Because while our words may be on the tip of our tongue,
they originate from deep within us. “Out of the abundance of the heart the
mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34). And thus the tongue can be used for both good and
evil (James 3:9). Or, as scholar Peter Davids put it, “On the one hand, [the
tongue] is very religious, but, on the other, it can be most profane.”
If we cannot tame this unruly tongue of ours, is it destined to
be a daily problem for us, always prone to speak evil? (v.10). By God’s grace,
no. We are not left to our own devices. The Lord will “set a guard” over my
mouth; He will “keep watch over the door of my lips” (Ps. 141:3). He can tame
the untamable.
Lord, my mouth sometimes speaks words that
don’t honor You. Thank You that by Your Spirit
my untamed tongue can be brought under divine
control. Please guard my mouth today.
To rule your tongue, let Christ rule in your heart.
INSIGHT:
James’s letter is filled with practical wisdom that deals with
responding to trials (ch.1), living out our faith (ch.2), taming the tongue
(ch.3), interpersonal conflict (ch.4), and waiting on the Lord (ch.5). James is
sometimes called “the Proverbs of the New Testament.”
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
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