James 3:8-10 “But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 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 both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.” (NASB)
Sharon and I went over to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas at the end of the week and had a good time. Las Vegas is known for plenty of “Bad” things and it’s safe to say evil runs amok in many corners of the city, Sin City. It’s also safe to say when the NFR comes to town the moral condition of the city is improved.
Why? Generally speaking cowboys are good and decent people and I have noticed among them a greater tendency to confess Christ than in the mainstream population. So in Las Vegas with an influx of cowboys and their ilk I think my assumption is true. At the rodeo I heard on more than one occasion the announcer reference praying for an injured cowboy or someone involved in the business of rodeo that was sick. Saturday night while we watched the final round on ESPN they interviewed several cowboys who gave thanks to the Lord right there on national television.
Scripture indicates some absolute truth, “But no one can tame the tongue…”. Although the cowboys that came to Vegas were generally of higher morals than the average they did not escape this truth. Friday night in the casino, before heading back to our room, we observed a big drunk cowboy loudly telling stories and dropping “F” bombs about every other sentence. That cowboy hadn’t tamed his tongue and frankly wasn’t even trying.
The cursing that cowboy was issuing from his tongue was obvious evidence of his untamed tongue. Other evidence sometimes is less obvious.
The passage says indication of the untamed tongue is when we, “Curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God”. Evidently the evil of our tongue is not confined to bad language; rather it includes the negative opinions expressed about our fellow man. We also witnessed Friday night while riding in a cab over to the rodeo a passenger in another cab hanging out the window letting a third cab driver know what he thought of him blocking two lanes. Even negating any foul language in this situation, this guy was cursing the other cab driver. His expression would still have been sin had he said it under his breath quietly sitting in the back of that cab with the windows rolled up. He was cursing that man made in God’s image.
It’s all around us and I’m sorry to say it isn’t just THEM we can point to being guilty as charged. I am guilty and YOU are guilty. After all, “No one can tame the tongue”.
The final thought is a difficult one. Verse 10 says that, “from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.” That’s our challenge then, to tame a tongue that isn’t able to be tamed. The take home message then is that we are to work hard to control our tongue. Both the language we use and the expression of ill will toward others are to be controlled by us. We should do all we can toward this effort but not be surprised when we slip. When we do slip, it’s time to mend fences with our brothers and confess our sin to God.
I can tell you from personal experience that although the tongue can’t be tamed it is possible to make dramatic changes for the better in the way that little rascal is used. AMEN!
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