"Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being...But no one can tame the tongue;...With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God... From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so " (Gen. 2: 7; James 3: 8-10).
In the beginning, God made man in His own image and likeness (see Gen. 1: 26-27; 2: 7). Man was made for the glory of God and to bring glory to God. Apart of what it means to bring honour and glory to God is to "praise" Him with our tongues. Let us look at the power of the praiseful tongue and the power of the perverse tongue.
- The Power of the Praiseful Tongue: Consider these few verses that speak about the praising tongue that brings glory to God: “The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver,…” (Prov. 10: 20); “But the tongue of the wise brings healing” (Prov. 12: 18); “The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable,…” (Prov. 15: 2); “A soothing tongue is a tree of life,…” (Prov. 15: 4); “And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness and Your praise all the day long” (Psalm 35: 28); “Let my tongue sing of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteousness” (Psalm 119: 172). So here we see above a few Scriptures among many that show the power of the praiseful tongue.
- The Power of the Perverse Tongue: Consider these next few verses as a warning against the sinful tongue: “But a lying tongue is only for a moment” (Prov. 12: 19); “And he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief” (Prov. 17: 20); “The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue” (Prov. 25: 23, KJV); “But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison” (James 3: 8). Once again, only this time, we see through these few Scripture passages the power of the perverse tongue.
Now in the next few paragraphs, I have added some further
thoughts in relation to our tongue from an old Journal Entry from a few years
ago. They are as follows:
“While
meditating on the above Scripture text, Proverbs
18:21 came to mind; it reads: “Death
and life are in the power of the tongue,..” (ESV). Two
opposing points can be seen in these two Bible passages: One positive, the
other negative. James 3:10
speaks of “blessing and cursing,” whereas, Proverbs 18:21 states “death and
life.” These two Scripture passages share two opposing
points, but with the same truth brought to our attention. The word “blessing” here can be related to “life,” whereas, “cursing” is closely
related to “death.” For
example, our words can either bring the blessing of life to someone, or our words
can bring the curse of death to someone. In other words, what we say can either
build someone up or destroy someone. How we use our tongues are closely associated with the spiritual health of our heart and mind.
Essentially, James here in Chapter 3:10 is warning his hearers not to be
double-tongued.
The apostle
Paul himself, when stating to Timothy what the qualifications are for deacons, also warned against electing a potential
brother who is “double-tongued” (See 1 Tim. 3:8). Now a
brother who is of a double-tongue, is one who is divided in mind. James speaks
about this twice in James 1:8
and 4:8. He uses the term “double-minded.” This can further be seen in the fact that a double-minded person is “unstable in all his ways.” (1:8). The
word “unstable” here speaks
of one who is “wavering or doubting.” Such a brother is not stable in his walk
with God. We are instructed to not be divided by a double-mind, but rather we
are instructed to be united in having the mind of Christ (See Phil. 2:5). Then
there is the matter of the heart. (See Matt. 6:21; 12:34-37). So if a
fellow believer is double-tongued,
due to being double-minded, then one
can be certain that he or she is also “double-hearted.” (Psalm
12:2). You see, the truth here is much more than just the problem with the
tongue. It is much deeper than that. “For out of
the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matt.
12:34b, ESV). “For as he thinketh in his heart, so
is he.” (Prov. 23:7, KJV). These three truths containing the
word “double” can be outlined in this way:
(1.) Double-minded –speaks of “divided thoughts.” (See James 1:8; 4:8: the solution for this is Phil. 4:8);(2.) Double-hearted –speaks of “divided affections.” (See Psalm 12:2: the solution for this is Prov. 4:23; Col. 3:2; Phil. 1:21);(3.) Double-tongue–speaks of “divided words.” (See 1 Tim. 3:8; James 3:10: the solution for this is Prov. 12:18; 15:4; 1 Pet. 3:10).
Hmm, it is
interesting that these three points covers the whole person: Spirit, soul, and
body. How wonderful and comforting to know that God has promised to preserve us
spirit, soul, and body (see 1 Thess. 5:23;
Heb. 4: 12 see also Phil. 1:6; Jude 24).
The Spirit, soul, and body are all affected by the tongue, just as the tongue
is affected by our spirit, soul, and body. Consider this outline below:
(1.) The Double-minded man’s divided thoughts—“spirit” (see James 1: 8; 4: 8; 1 Thess. 5: 23; Heb. 4: 12).(2.) The Double-hearted man’s divided affections—“soul” (see Psalm 12: 2; 1 Thess. 5: 23; Heb. 4: 12).(3.) The Double-tongued man’s divided words—“body” (see 1 Tim. 3: 8; James 1: 26; 3: 9-10; 1 Thess. 5: 23; Heb. 4: 12).[1]
Man has two breaths,
With a tongue split in two!
Men may deny it,
But it is true!
Man holds two worlds,
All in one breath!
One speaks of life,
The other of death!
Though man may only have one tongue,
Yet its language is two!
Its word can both burn like fire,
Or refresh like heaven's dew!
Two breaths,
With a severed tongue!
Its ancient truth,
Every nation has sung!
(JDS: Thurs. Dec. 12, 1996)
[1] J. D.
Sheppard, Living Between the Transient and the Real (Book: 1), (St. John’s,
July 3, 2008), pg. 10.
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