Summary: Here's a pop quiz. What do the following items have in common? A wild beast, a rudder on a ship, a small fire, a deadly poison, and brackish water. If you said these items are all images that James uses to talk about the tongue, you are correct. He minces no words in the third chapter. Control your tongue. He isn't the only writer in the Bible to give this command, of course. Proverbs is chock full of these kinds of nuggets, like in chapter 21, verse 23: "Those who guard their mouths and their tongues guard themselves from trouble." So is the book of Psalms, like in 34:13: "Then you must keep your tongue from evil and keep your lips from speaking lies!" Even Jesus has a lot to say...about what to say. For example, in Matthew, he says that it's not what goes into our mouths that defiles us, but the words that come out of them. Clearly, the Bible understands this universal truth about the human condition: our tongues need taming. But James is unique in the vividness and flair that he uses to make his point. He uses word pictures to illustrate the power of words. The tongue is like a small bit that can bridle even the wildest horse. It is like a small rudder that can determine the course of a giant sea vessel, and small spark that can set off a blazing fire, a tiny bit of poison that can cause great harm, and a toxic mixture of salt and fresh water that can destroy life. That is some vivid verbal flourish.
