James was one of Yahshua’s natural brothers [Matthew 13:55] and the senior elder of the church in Jerusalem. His letter is wise, insightful, and full of pastoral advice. One of his statements, however, always makes me pause. “The tongue,” he writes, “a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell” [James 3:6; Christian Standard Bible]. What an extraordinary, frightening picture!
I pondered on my tongue being ‘a world of unrighteousness’ and felt rather shocked. I checked out some other translations and was still shocked: ‘the very world of injustice and unrighteousness,’ said one; ‘a world of evil,’ said another; ‘with vast potentialities for evil,’ said a third. Now I’m thinking of my salvation, and the wonderful power of Yahshua’s blood to cleanse every sin and stain. His amazing power to create a clean, new heart in me [Ezekiel 36:26]. But nowhere do I read that He’ll give me a new tongue!
I think of news items where we’ve seen images of forest fires raging out of control and hear of dedicated men and women spending days fighting the blaze. I remember pictures of the devastation and destruction left behind and ask myself if my tongue can create such desolation. Cautiously, I admit it can. My own tongue and, indeed, the tongues of others have certainly, at times, ‘set the course of life on fire’ for me. I imagine we all relate to wishing there were things we hadn’t said, to berating ourselves because we didn’t ‘hold our tongue’, but the scandalous reality is this fire is kindled by hell!
What can we do? Yahshua said, “For out of the abundance of the heart (the) mouth speaks” [Luke 6:45]. When my tongue has been ‘set on fire by hell’ I need to examine my heart, allow the Holy Spirit to show me what is wrong and then take that to Yahshua, repenting for my words, and asking for cleansing, healing, and change. Our goal is, “Gracious words” which are “like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body” [Proverbs 16:24].
Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash
https://unsplash.com/photos/green-trees-under-white-sky-during-daytime-XGGmhortdtA
This Is My Friend!Blessed is the person who places his confidence in Yahweh and does not rely on arrogant people or those who follow lies.
Psalm 40:4, Names of God Bible
No matter what happens to us in this life, the word of [Yahweh] tells us that [Yahweh] is for us, not against us.
Donna Kazenske
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