for miles. We smile at the thought, and yet it is true. “ Nothing will cook your goose faster than a red-hot tongue." We need to be so careful about what we say. Medical science has verified the fact that angry words, resulting from a violent temper, can often produce dangerous glandular reactions. More than one person has died of a heart attack or stroke while he was giving vent to a fit of rage. Washington Irving tells how Rip Van Winkle's wife died in a fit of temper. What an awful way to go out of this life. James views the tongue as the center of nature. It can set the whole circumstance of life ablaze. Careless words affect the sphere of our development. The evil power of the tongue is hellish and devil ish. Men have succeeded in taming even the most ferocious of animals, exercising dominion overy every conceivable kind of creation. Yet the tongue no man is able to tame or control (vrs. 7). Even after our other wicked inclinations have been subdued by the Holy Spirit the tongue remains an irrepres sible rebel. Our Adamic human nature manifests itself more quick ly in the use of the tongue than in any other part of the body. At one moment the tongue speaks piously uttering the praises of Cod (vrs. 9), and the next it assassinates the reputation of someone else. Why do we attack those who retain the image of God? How is it possible to address Cod with reverence and then harbor hatred and spew out invectives against our fellow men? These things ought not so to be (vrs. 10). In the whole realm of nature we do not find such a con
obedience. The bit does not dimin ish the great strength of the horse. It enables the owner to harness the energy of the animal guiding it to ward a useful purpose. Yes, the tongue infuences our total activi ties. A secure hold on the reins of the tongue will bring the whole personality of the body into disci plined action. Likewise is true with the rudder of the ship. Immense ocean ves sels respond immediately to the man at the helm. In a rational crea ture like the horse, and a mechani cal unit of transportation like the ship, both can be governed by small things. This is why the anal ogy is drawn concerning the par allel of the tongue. Its potential for good or evil is incalculable. The wagging of loose tongues is the major cause of trouble in our churches today. Are you willing to pray, “ Let the words of my mouth and the medi tations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer"? In such teach ing we can see the damage and destruction inflicted by the uncon trolled tongue. This is comparable to the devastation caused by a great forest fire. In verse five the word “ matter" should really be rendered by the Creek word “ for est." It takes only a small spark to ignite a whole mountain of tim ber. Forest fires are ominous trag edies. Fire causes loses which are not recoverable. The untamed tongue will cause similar results. “ The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity" (vrs. 6). The action of a tongue spreads like wild fire. What a man slanderously whispers can sometimes echo and reverberate Page 46
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