Untamable Tongue
7 Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (James 3:7-8)
Continuing on the James’ warning about the tongue, James describes the tongue as untamable, by giving an example on how mankind has had the ability to subdue or tame four classifications of animals which could traverse on land, swim through the sea and fly through the air, or as Thomas Lea classifies them as “walk, fly, crawl or swim.”
Now, not everyone has subdued a wild cheetah, or shark, or Komodo dragon, but mankind has the power and ability to subdue these animals. In fact, just in this example I just made, you can view all of these animals at a zoo or aquarium. Yet, James notes that even though we can subdue or tame these powerful and dangerous creatures, “no one can tame the tongue.” The tongue is a “restless evil” always trying to create mischief. It is described as being “full of deadly poison.” Like a snake, the tongue has the power to destroy and cause harm.
So, if no man can naturally tame the tongue, what are we to do? We are to pray and submit it to the Lord, asking for His help to keep us pure, for we cannot do it on our own strength, but rather, lean on God’s strength. David modeled this, knowing that he could not tame his tongue without the help of God, seen in Psalm 141:3, “Lord, set up a guard for my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips,” and Psalm 19:14, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.” Finally, we should actively strive to build others up with our speech, as encouraged by Paul in Ephesians 4:29, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
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