James has already told us that it is impossible for humankind to tame the tongue (v. 8). So what do we do? Jesus tells us that it is not first our tongues, but our hearts, that are the real culprit. “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matt. 15:18-19). So the tongue simply reflects what is already in the heart.
None of us need to be convinced of how difficult it is to tame the tongue. It is likely that you have already failed today. But in the midst of knowing how hard it is to tame the tongue, we need to be reminded of why it’s so difficult and where to go for help. James 3:1-12 points us in the right direction.
James uses two illustrations to teach that humankind is unable to bridle his tongue. His first illustration is that of a rider on a horse who can put a bit into the horse’s mouth and control its whole body (Jas. 3:3). His second is of a pilot on a ship that can guide the large vessel with a small rudder, turning it where he wants it to go (v. 4). In contrast, a person cannot control his body with his tongue.
To explain why James uses the imagery of fire. Just as a small fire can set a large forest ablaze, so too the small tongue can set the whole body ablaze. In fact, James calls the tongue “a fire, a world of unrighteousness…staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life” (Jas. 3:6). What gives the tongue such destructive power? It is “set on fire by hell” (v. 6). In other words, Satan stands behind the destructive power of the tongue.
James illustrates his point by using the animal world (Jas. 3:7). God commanded Adam and Eve to have dominion over the creatures of the earth (Gen. 1:26-28), and indeed James says that every kind of animal “can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind” (v. 7). However, humans can’t tame the human tongue. “It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (v. 8). For example, the same mouth can bless God and curse people made in His image (vv. 9-10). But this should not be so, and James uses four images to teach us why.
First, fresh water and salt water cannot pour out of the same spring (Jas. 3:11).