February 22 Daily Devotional

Scripture for Day 53—James 3:8–12

⁸ ... but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰ From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. ¹¹ Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? ¹² Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Devotional:

In college I had an anthropology professor whose class was so interesting because he was not just an academe. He was also involved in mercy ministry in third world countries. He told of an instance where they were preparing to install both a water supply system and a sewage system in one village. Some of the locals who were involved in the work protested that they were doing twice as much work and expense as was necessary. They proposed that they instead simply install one system and use the same pipes to bring in water during the day and carry away sewage at night! That's awful, right?

But the human tongue is just as bad as that! "With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing." How can the same mouth say such contradictory things? It's like using the same pipes to carry away sewage and bring in drinking water! Ugh! How do you suppose the holy God likes that?

The upshot of it all is that we have a dilemma. You must tame your tongue. "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless" (1:26).

But you cannot tame your tongue. "No human being can tame the tongue" (3:8). Why not? Because of your inner corruption, slavery to sin, and spiritual death. Your words merely reveal what's in your heart. "Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water."

You cannot tame your tongue. But our Lord Jesus Christ can! He performed all our duty by his perfect life for us. He paid all our debt by his atoning death for us. Therefore, death could not hold him. He rose from the dead, ascended to the highest place, and poured out his Holy Spirit. Look to Jesus alone and find full and free forgiveness. Cry out to him and find strength for newness of life. Look to Jesus to tame your tongue!

Click here for background on the author of Are You For Real?: Meditations in the Epistle of James for Secret or Family Worship.