Small sparks lead to fires

How do most fires start? Usually because of a small spark. In James, it is written that our tongues are fire, a word of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

The tongue is small but has the power to control everything.

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships for example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. (James 3:3-5)

I wonder if your tongue is tamed or is it ready to start a fire? Taming the tongue is so incredibly hard and I am not even that good at having a tamed tongue. Way better than I used to be that is for sure. I believe one of the best ways to tame your tongue is when you spend time with the Lord on a daily basis. That time leads to feeling and being more aware of the Holy Spirit's presence. When I feel the Holy Spirit's presence, it is more easy to recognize when I should or shouldn't say something.

What we say and what we don't say are both important. Proper speech is not only saying the right thing at the right time, but it is also controlling your desire to say what you shouldn't. An untamed tongue is one that gossips, puts others down, complains, flatters, and lies. Before we speak we should ask ourselves, "Is what I want to say true? It is necessary? Is it kind?"

I encourage you to write those three questions down and try to remember them all of the time. If we are able to remember those questions before we speak, imagine how much better we could control what we say.

An uncontrolled tongue can do terrible things. Satan uses the tongue to divide people and pit them against one another. Hateful words are damaging because they spread destruction quickly, and no one can stop the results once they are spoken. We can't be tricked into thinking that we can apologize later about what we say, because even if we do, the scars remain.

but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (James 3:8)

If no human can tame the tongue, why even bother trying? That is a fair question to ask. Even though we may never be able to achieve perfect control of our tongues, we can still learn enough to reduce the damage our words can do. It is better to fight a fire than to let the fire take its course and destroy everything.

Fighting the tongue's fire is something that we cannot do on our own strength. The Holy Spirit will give us increasing power to monitor and control what say, so that when we are offended, the Spirit reminds us of God's love, and we won't react in a hateful manner. If you have relied on the Holy Spirit before in this context and know what it's like to be able to control your tongue it is one of the best feeling. It's so real.

I encourage you to all the remember those three questions before you say anything:

Is what I want to say true?

It is necessary?

It is kind?

We can never tame the tongue on our own, we have to rely on the Holy Spirit. Words are powerful, be carful to how you use them.