In the spring of my senior year (1966 and yes, I am old) the number one hit song was “Wild Thing.” This was a somewhat short and silly song about someone who made “everything groovy!”
When I hear or think about this song today, I think about that wild thing that lives in the mouths of everyone. Consider James 3:6-8, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”
Certainly we all have experienced the poison of an unruly tongue. Conversely, if we are honest with ourselves, we remember when we dished out the deadly poison ourselves. Words spoken unwisely can wipe away years of teaching. Every Christian must consider this scripture and make a concerted effort to control this fire.
Realizing the scripture clearly states that no man can tame the tongue, what can we do with this unruly member? I believe this scripture is telling us that without God’s help we cannot tame our tongues. James gives examples of how man can tame animals by himself, but the tongue is special. Only a concerted effort by a Christian will result in a tamed tongue.
Have you noticed that mature Christians are better able to control their tongues? Even so, this taming requires diligence, study and prayer. We must study how Christ answered his adversaries and copy His style and manner.
Let’s all work on taming our tongues this week and remember the tongue is never completely domesticated!
For the elders, Dave Benner