James 3:7-8

NIV: All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

The Message: This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can't tame a tongue—it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer.

I love the way the Message puts this, but then in the NIV it says that the tongue is a restless evil. Doesn't that just send shivers up and down your spine? A restless evil, full of deadly poison. To me, those words conjure up the image of an evil being prowling around, up and down, never still, always on the move, seeking to pervert and destroy. But then didn't Peter warn us about the devil:

1 Peter 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (NIV)

Peter is describing a restless evil there too. Have you ever seen the lions and tigers at the zoo? The way they prowl around their enclosure, so sure, so soft footed, not making any noise but just prowling, looking for something or someone? I imagine the devil is like that, but he is not in an enclosure, he is free to roam around this world going wherever he chooses, seeking out believers, to draw us away from Christ, and looking for non believers to keep their eyes, their hearts and their minds firmly fixed on the things of this world.

Well, the tongue is the restless evil within each one of us. It is so easy to say the first thing that comes into our heads, to let loose with that retort, to stop bottling things up and just give our tongues free rein to say whatever we want without putting any guard or restraint on it . Have you never had someone say something to you and you just explode? Or what about the times when you are unjustly accused? Or when you overhear someone say something about you or someone very kindly informs you of some gossip about you that is being spread around? And what about the times you hear a juicy snippet of news about someone you know and you just have to pass that on to others? Maybe you have had a stressful day and when your children come asking you for something, you end up yelling at them or saying something that, as a child, they really take to heart and are hurt by your words?

The effects of a hurtful or unkind word can take years to overcome. Just think back to the times when you have been criticised and the times when you have been praised. The criticism probably cut deeper and maybe still hurts even today. Telling a child, for instance, that they are useless, will hurt them for years and will leave scars that are very slow to heal.

The worrying thing here is that James tells us that no man can tame the tongue. Yes, we can control it, watch what we say, try not to gossip, or say something cruel and hurtful. But undoubtedly, sooner or later, we will let that control slip and an unguarded word will slip out, causing possibly irreparable harm. We have to be on our guard all the time, watching every word we say. I don't think, humanly, it is possible for us to do that, to never say something that will not hurt others. And even if we succeed, the chances are we have thought the words we refrain from speaking. I know I do that. But what did Jesus say about thinking something but not doing it?

Matthew 5:21-22 You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.' I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill. (The Message)

So I reckon that controlling the tongue starts inside with what we think because doesn't the tongue just reflect the inner person anyway?

Matthew 15:18-19 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean'. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. (NIV)

We need to get our hearts right with God, to let the Holy Spirit change us from within to become more like Jesus. Then we will be able to control our tongues, to guard our thoughts and to stop that thought, that word before it is even imagined or spoken.