Tame the Tongue—Two2Grow, Wednesday, November 11
“All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” James 3:7–8 NIV
By Emelie Stenhammar, MD
I had a pet bird when I was a kid. A budgie named Charlie. He could say several phrases: “Hello, Charlie,” “Hallelujah!” and “Praise the Lord” (you can see I grew up in a Christian home). He was very tame and used to sit on my shoulder. Charlie would even let me hold him and cuddle him. We had a ceiling fan in our kitchen that he used as a merry-go-round.
Today’s Scripture talks about animals, such as birds, being able to be tamed. That is a great verse for anyone who is struggling with training their pet. But it is not really what James is talking about. He uses it as a contrast to our tongues. Birds can be tamed—even reptiles, apparently—but not our tongues.
We, as humans, have a tendency to not always use our words in a way that is uplifting or worthy of our identity as children of God. In our own ability, we can’t tame our tongues. We say things we later regret: harsh words, gossip, or crude jokes. We don’t want to, but we lack the power to control our words. We need Jesus to sanctify our mouths and the help of the Holy Spirit to use our words so that they bring glory to God and edify those who hear them.
I would encourage you to invite the Holy Spirit this day to help us guard our tongues. To help us resist the temptation to spread judgmental words, lies, or gossip. And instead, to use our words to bless, comfort, and encourage the people around us. Let’s tame our tongue!
By Emelie Stenhammar, MD
I had a pet bird when I was a kid. A budgie named Charlie. He could say several phrases: “Hello, Charlie,” “Hallelujah!” and “Praise the Lord” (you can see I grew up in a Christian home). He was very tame and used to sit on my shoulder. Charlie would even let me hold him and cuddle him. We had a ceiling fan in our kitchen that he used as a merry-go-round.
Today’s Scripture talks about animals, such as birds, being able to be tamed. That is a great verse for anyone who is struggling with training their pet. But it is not really what James is talking about. He uses it as a contrast to our tongues. Birds can be tamed—even reptiles, apparently—but not our tongues.
We, as humans, have a tendency to not always use our words in a way that is uplifting or worthy of our identity as children of God. In our own ability, we can’t tame our tongues. We say things we later regret: harsh words, gossip, or crude jokes. We don’t want to, but we lack the power to control our words. We need Jesus to sanctify our mouths and the help of the Holy Spirit to use our words so that they bring glory to God and edify those who hear them.
I would encourage you to invite the Holy Spirit this day to help us guard our tongues. To help us resist the temptation to spread judgmental words, lies, or gossip. And instead, to use our words to bless, comfort, and encourage the people around us. Let’s tame our tongue!