The Tongue

James 3:1

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

Quite a warning! I think someone who would be teaching the word would have studied it a lot. They would have been exposed to much more of the Bible as a whole. Because of this they have the greater strictness. Also I find it interesting that this verse precedes a passage on the tongue. Perhaps James had this in mind. Those who teach should have deep concern about what comes out of their mouths.

• The tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness
• The tongue has the ability to stain the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell [How serious is this! what an admonition to take notice of our tongues. They can not be excused as a flaw of our nature. We are not helpless to control it. We have the Holy Spirit.
• No human being can tame the tongue.
• The tongue is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 
• We can bless our Father God and at the same time still curse man. 

The tongue is something we should take seriously, thinking about what we say and not talking to fill the air. It is also a member of our body that must be controlled by the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Since no man can control it, we must rely on God! We must make this a matter of prayer!

Father,

I confess many times things words come out of my mouth that are terrible. Give me repentance and empower me to be careful about what I say. Help my words to reflect You. Help me to be a window to the world of Your saving grace.

In Jesus name,

Amen