How To Put Out the Fire of the Tongue (Part 1)
James 3:1-5a
Preached by Pastor Tony Miano
Pico Canyon Community Church
April 29, 2001
Introduction: My girls and I have begun a new hobby of sorts. We’re researching our family tree. I had an opportunity a couple of weeks ago—in fact, it was Easter Sunday—to go through some old papers I had in storage. Among the documents, school assignments and the like were my elementary school report cards.
As I looked at my first grade report card, I reflected on the fact that my Grandfather, my Father, and I all sat in the same first grade classroom—Room #2 of Lyndora Elementary School. I looked at the “Scholarship” section of the report card and showed my daughters that daddy got straight “A’s” for the last three reporting periods. Reading, writing, and mathematics were the only three grade categories. Boy, that was a long time ago. I gave them a short little speech on how important good grades are to their future. They smiled and listened intently. But they had this look on their face that said, “Oh-oh—Daddy’s getting revved-up. I think there’s a sermon coming.”
Then my eye caught the section of the report card entitled “Citizenship and Personality Development.” I had to laugh as I saw the check marks in the small boxes that represented areas of behavior where I needed work. Now my daughters were really interested. “What’s so funny, Dad?” They asked.
I opened up the report card so they could see and pointed to the section entitled “Social Attitudes.” I pointed to #7 on the list and showed them how many check marks I received in “listens attentively without interrupting.”
Each grading period had a check mark, accept the last one. Instead of a check mark, my teacher, Mrs. Martsoff, simply wrote these words along the side of the report card. “He’s working at it.” Even though I was only six years old, I think she resigned herself to the fact that being talkative would be a character trait that would stay with me for a long time. If Mrs. Martsoff could only see me now!
My speech has gotten me into trouble over the years and it has gotten me out of trouble as well. The tongue is a very influential, powerful, and dangerous tool in the hands of man. This morning, as we begin to study James 3:1-12, we’ll see what James has to say about this small but mighty weapon. In the process, let’s see if we can’t come up with some ways to put out the fire of the tongue. Follow along as I read James 3:1-12.
This passage of Scripture has been divided and subdivided in several different ways. For our study this morning, probably the most manageable way to organize this passage is to divide it into three primary sections. First we see James deal with the pride of speech (vv. 1-2a). Second he deals with the power of speech (vv. 2b-5a). Lastly, he deals with the perversion of speech (vv. 5b-12).
I had originally planned to study these first twelve verses in James 3, in one message, but there is just too much meat. The topic is too important for us to just peruse the passage. For those of you who have been worshiping with us for a while, I hope you’ve realized that we believe our time in the Word is precious.
The success of our time in the Word cannot be gauged by how much material we cover, but how well we understand, truly understand, the Scripture we study—not acquiring knowledge for knowledge’s sake, but so we can apply it to our lives and be equipped to live by faith, to be like Christ, and to glorify God in all things. With that said, we’ll begin our study of this passage by looking at verses 1-5a this morning, and finish the passage next week.
The Pride of Speech
Let’s start by taking a look at the pride of speech. How many of you have seen the modern-day Christmas classic, “A Christmas Story?” It’s a great movie about one family’s Christmas season and a little boy’s mission to receive the Cadillac of BB guns as a present. The Miano family watches this movie every year. Whenever I see the scene of Ralphie being forced to try on the bunny pajamas, I think of the purple turtleneck sweaters my grandmother would get me every year. I hated those sweaters—and I had to wear them whenever grandma came over.
The movie is filled with scenes that will take you back to the nostalgia of your childhood. Another such scene is one in which the tongue plays a prominent role. The scene involves Ralphie, whose adult counterpart narrates the entire movie, and Ralphie’s friends, Flick and Schwartz.
We find the three boys, along with a bunch of other kids, huddled around the school flagpole. It is a cold and snowy day, and everyone is bundled up like Eskimos. The scene begins with Schwartz trying to convince Flick that his tongue would stick to the flagpole. Flick told Schwartz he was “full of it.” Schwartz responds by issuing a “double-dog dare” to Flick. The camera pans to Ralphie and the group of kids who all gasp at the challenge.
Flick is momentarily taken aback by the challenge, but quickly smiles and says that it would be stupid for him to put his tongue on the flagpole. The narrator returns and explains the etiquette of the dare. He explains that proper form would be to follow his “double-dog dare” with a “triple-dare-you.” If this challenge was not met, then, and only then, should Schwartz go to the worst of the worst—“the triple-dog dare.”
But Schwartz, determined to see his friend’s tongue stuck to the flagpole, goes for the jugular and, with the authority of a nine-year-old, issues a “triple-dog dare.” You can see the panic on Flick’s face as he realizes that he has no choice but to place his tongue on the flagpole. To do otherwise, to refuse a “triple-dog dare” challenge, would be tantamount to playground cowardice.
So with some false bravado, and a lot of uncertainty, Flick sticks out his tongue and touches it to the flagpole. Any guesses as to what happened? Yep. It stuck like a bug on flypaper. Of course, Flick panicked and started to squeal like a little girl (no offense ladies). The school bell rang, which made it convenient for Flick’s good friends, Ralphie and Schwartz, along with all of the other kids, to scramble back to class, leaving Flick alone in his moment of shame and pain.
Pride got in the way of Flick making a wise decision. Pride caused Flick to say and do things he should not have done. The moral of the story is that the pride of the tongue, the pride of speech, if you will, can stick us with some very serious consequences. And this is what James addresses in verse one and the first half of verse two, in chapter three.
James is pretty consistent in his writing style. In 1:2, James begins his discussion on finding joy in the midst of trials by referring to his readers as “my brethren.” He addresses his readers as “my beloved brethren” in 1:19 as he begins to explain to them how to avoid fooling themselves about their faith. James begins chapter two with the phrase “my brethren” as he deals with the sin of partiality in the church. We’ve spent the last three weeks dealing with the issue of genuine faith verses dead faith. Once again, James starts his teaching in 2:14 with the phrase “my brethren.”
For those of you who haven’t been with us for all of our study of the Book of James, the phrase “my brethren” serves a couple of purposes. The consistent positioning of the phrase tells us that James is about to begin yet another important topic. It also serves as a reminder to his readers that he cares for them deeply. This is the case in the first verse of chapter three.
The first one-and-a-half verses of chapter three are the topic statement for this entire passage of Scripture. James writes, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren.” So how does this relate to speech? Well, in James’ day, there were no textbooks, videos, or Power Point. Teaching was done through verbal communication. At first glance, it would appear that James is discouraging his readers from becoming teachers. That’s not the case.
In effect, what James is saying is that there were, in his time, just as there are today, many people who presumed to be teachers who should have stopped making such assumptions. The wording of this command implies that James wanted an activity to stop that had already begun and was continuing to happen.
We need to keep in mind the social structure of the church at the time of James’ letter. Most of the believers were Jewish. The apostle Paul had probably just begun evangelizing the Gentile world. The young Christians carried with them many of the social attitudes and ideas about church life and structure out of Judaism, into Christianity. Such was probably the case with teachers.
The Greek word for “teachers” represented any position in the church in which the person regularly taught the Word of God. The office of teacher was looked at with the same kind of esteem and reverence as the office of the Jewish Rabbi. I read something very interesting in one of the commentaries I looked at as I studied this passage.
“In some Jewish circles, rabbis were held in such high regard that a person’s duty to his rabbi was considered greater than that to his own parents, because his parents only brought him into the life of this world, whereas his rabbi brought him into the life of the world to come. It was written that if a man’s parents and his rabbi were captured by an enemy, the rabbi was to be ransomed first” (MacArthur, p. 146-47).
Those who were religious probably dreamed of attaining such a place of honor and respect. There were those within the young church community who aspired to such heights from a genuine desire to serve the Lord, and others who wanted the position for no other reason than to satisfy their sinful pride, looking for the flattery of men.
We see the same thing today, don’t we? There are many people who put themselves off as being teachers of God’s Word who do so out of corrupt or selfish motives. Just turn on your television, especially early in the morning, and you’ll find someone in a $1,000 suit claiming to be a teacher of the Word of God.
One man, who teaches from his office desk, sends a very clear message just by the room’s décor. First of all, he sits with his back to a large window that overlooks a beautifully manicured and sprawling lawn. On his desk, in a position of overt prominence, is a scale model of his personal jet. The pride in his perceived self-worth is pretty obvious. Any guess what his message is? You got it—the false teaching of the health, wealth, and prosperity doctrine.
We’ve already seen James deal with the issue of false teachers. In chapter two, we saw how he put down the antinomian notion that man is under no obligation to live a life that is evidence of a faith that works. He does this by making it very clear that our faith should be evident in the way we serve the Lord and care for one another.
James isn’t discouraging those who have truly been called by God to serve as teachers in the church. He’s not trying to discourage anyone who, because of their genuine faith in Christ and the gift God has given them, from enjoying opportunities to serve in the capacity of a Sunday school teacher or Bible study leader. In fact, we can find encouragement in God’s Word for the aspiring teacher. Hebrews 5:12 says, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.”
Not only is Hebrews 5:12 encouraging, but it also paints a picture of what might have been going on in the church when James wrote this letter. There may have been a “mania” (Hiebert, p. 186), of sorts, with people not called by God to teach rushing forward to get some pulpit time. James is warning that those who do teach need to make sure they are first and foremost truly in the faith, and that they have been called and gifted by God to serve the church in this way.
Remember what James wrote toward the end of chapter one? “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his own tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless” (1:26). If every member of the church is to check what they claim to believe against what they say and do in order to determine the genuineness of their faith, how much more should that same principle apply to the one who explains the Word of God to God’s people as a teacher?
In the second half of verse one, James explains why it is so important to exercise caution when deciding whether or not to serve as a teacher. “Knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” The first word in the phrase, “knowing,” can also be read, “Because you know.” The implication is that those being warned [by James already knew] that in assuming to be teachers they . . . placed themselves under the fact of stricter accountability” (Hiebert, p. 187).
This verse is not saying that teachers are called to live holier, more exemplary lives than other Christians. The point is that judgment will be more severe for the one who is called to teach and fails to do so correctly, accurately, or sincerely.
Once again, James shows us his humility in his writing. In presenting his warning to his readers, he writes, “we will receive a stricter judgment.” James is not a “do as I say, not as I do” kind of guy. Being a teacher, and called by God to do so, James understands that every warning he presents, every doctrinal truth he conveys, every precept for living a godly life he encourages his readers to follow must first dictate the way he lives his own life.
James’ attitude toward ministry and teaching is one that I hope I never lose sight of. The weight of what James is writing here is not burdensome to me. It serves as a constant reminder of the great responsibility I have. The idea of a “stricter judgment” serves as a constant reminder of the fact that what I do is a privilege, not a right. Since teaching is still, even with all of our modern technology, a skill requiring a great deal of speech, teachers run a greater risk of misusing their speech to the detriment of the church.
The Greek word for “judgment” is a neutral word. It most often has a negative ring to it in Scripture, and that’s what we see here. But it can also have positive connotations. For the unbeliever, for the person who has not committed their life to Jesus Christ, future judgment refers to the Great White Throne judgment. We find this kind of judgment described in Revelation 20:11-15.
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.”
“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Judgment for the believer will look different. Romans 14:12 tells us, “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” Every believer will stand before Christ’s bema, which is the Greek word for “judgment seat.”
Here, the believer does not face eternal separation from God and eternity in hell, as is the case with the unbeliever at the Great White Throne judgment. This is the time and place that the believer will give an account for his life’s work that genuinely reflects his relationship with Christ, and receives his eternal reward.
“The teacher’s eternal reward will reflect the faithfulness of his teaching” (MacArthur, p. 151). The apostle Paul called the Elders of Ephesus together in Miletus to bid them farewell. To some of the earliest leaders of the Christian faith he said this. “And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God” (Acts 20:25-27).
When Paul says that he’s “innocent of the blood of all men,” he’s saying that he not only accomplished his mission of teaching the church, but he also completed his mission of proclaim the gospel to a dying world.
Granted, the context tells us that James is addressing teachers, but if every believer is commanded to go and make disciples, to go and share the gospel with the lost, are we all not, in a sense, teachers? And if we share the gospel with a prideful heart or refuse to share the gospel with the same prideful heart, should not we expect to receive the same kind of “strict judgment” promised to those who teach the Word to the church?
Sometimes having pride in our speech is not just found in what we say. It’s not just found in those times when we claim to be teaching the Word of God, be it through a sermon, or Bible Study, or prayer group, children’s Sunday school, or even at our dinner table, when, in actuality we’re boasting through our own opinions or feelings about what the Bible says.
Sometimes pride can be found in what we don’t say. We boast through a defiant attitude that says, usually under our breath or in our mind, “Let someone else do the work of evangelism.” We exude a sense of pride in the fact that no one can make us do something we don’t want to do. “That’s not my gift,” or, “I’m already doing enough as it is,” are prideful words heard often in the body of Christ. “For we all stumble in many ways.” James tells us.
James begins chapter three by reinforcing “the truth that no one is exempt in regard to the dangers of the tongue,” (MacArthur, p. 151) which includes prideful speech. In order to put out the prideful fire of the tongue, one must be constantly aware that there are serious consequences that await the person that claims to be a teacher of the Word, and is not. There are serious consequences that await the person who, out of a sense of pride, distorts the Word of God to fit their opinions about its truth or their feelings about the character of God.
There is also a strict judgment that awaits those who know they should be teaching the Word of God, whether at church, or at home, or sharing the gospel message with the lost, but don’t make the most of the opportunity to do so. When James uses the word “stumble,” he does so in the sense of failing to do what is right. He makes an even stronger case for his point in 4:17. “Therefore, to one who knows the right things to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
I can think of two things that will be of great help to all of us as we try to keep down the fire of the tongue that comes in the form of pride—study and pray. When we saturate our minds with the Word of God, when we memorize it and meditate upon it, when we pray the Scriptures and earnestly seek wisdom and discernment from God to understand what His Word teaches, we will be better prepared to ward off the sin of pride that can manifest itself in our speech. We will be better equipped to teach the Word, be it from the pulpit, in public through evangelism and outreach, or as a parent.
And for those of us who do teach, study and prayer will serve as a constant reminder of the fact that teaching is a privilege, which carries with it a great responsibility and obligation. Study and prayer will also remind us of the serious consequences if we fail to teach the Word accurately.
The Power of Speech
Chuck Swindoll wrote, “To the physician, it is merely a two ounce slab of mucous membrane enclosing a complex array of muscles and nerves that enable our bodies to chew, taste, and swallow . . . [However] without the tongue no mother could sing her baby to sleep tonight. No ambassador could adequately represent our nation. No teacher could stretch the mind of students . . . No pastor could comfort troubled souls. No complicated, controversial issue could ever be discussed and solved. Our entire world would be reduced to grunts and shrugs” (quoted in Hughes, p. 413).
Having warned teachers to avoid pride in their speech, by considering the consequences of a greater judgment, James moves on to vividly illustrate the power of speech. He begins by presenting a hypothetical situation that, for argument’s sake, is assumed to be true, regardless of whether or not the hypothetical sets up a real situation. He writes, “If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man.”
James, in keeping with his Jewish background, repeats the word “stumble” to emphasize his point. When James uses the word in verse one, he is speaking more in generalities. In verse two, he is speak specifically about sins involving the word—not the Word of God, but the words of our lips, our speech.
The argument James is putting forward is that the only person he will consider to be perfect is the one who has a maturity of faith that enables him to control his tongue in any situation. James isn’t suggesting that the person who has perfect control of their tongue is sinless. That notion would contradict the truth that the only sinless man was Jesus Christ, God in the flesh.
To believe otherwise, to believe that man has any hope of perfection in his life, through his own power, completely negates the need for a Savior. Christ died for those whom He has called to pay the penalty for our sins and to do that which we cannot do ourselves, declare ourselves righteous.
We can be confident that James is speaking of control and maturity, and not perfection, by what he says next. He says that the man who is able, through maturity, to control what he says is also able to control the rest of his body. Just the wording of this part of the verse tells us that the tongue is the most difficult part of the body to control. Now, it’s important to note that James is not suggesting that we silence the tongue in order to control it. What he is saying here is that we should be wise about what we say.
We do not overpower our tongues through silence, because what happens when we eventually open our mouth is we end up saying what we shouldn’t anyways. The only difference is that we end up doing it at a later time. True control of the tongue occurs when we can speak with the maturity of one who is truly living for Christ.
James uses the word “bridle” for the second time in his letter. I mentioned 1:26 a little while ago. When we studied this verse we looked at the nomenclature of the bridle. Charmin Ortega, our resident horse aficionado, explained to me the workings of the bit and bridle. She told me “horses mouths and tongues are very sensitive. The actual ‘bit’ is nothing more than a metal bar with a roller in the center that the horse rolls with its tongue. The roller has really nothing to do with commanding the horse, it is really just used to keep him busy and from getting bored or fighting the bit.”
“The reins are connected to the bit on each side of the horse’s mouth and are used to gently send a ‘message’ to your horse as to the direction you wish to go. If you gently pull your reins to the left, he will respond by turning in that direction; same for the right.” The point of James’ bridle illustration in the second half of verse two, through verse three, is this. Just like “the body of the horse follows his mouth, guided by the bridle” (Robertson, vol. VI, p. 40), so too man’s body, his desires and actions, follow the leading of his speech.
James makes the exact same point in his second illustration, but in a more vivid way. In verse four James writes, “Look at the ships also.” The word “look” can also be translated as “Behold!” James may be making an exclamation here as if to say, “Pay attention. Stay with me. Still not convinced? Try this one on for size.”
In the first illustration we don’t see much by way of contrast between the size of the horse and the size of the bit. James lets the mere mention of the objects paint their own picture. But in verse four, we see James use words such as “so great” to describe the size of the ships and “very small” to describe the size of the rudder. Although ships in James’ day were significantly smaller than the ships of today, the size of the rudder still paled in comparison with the overall size of the ship.
To help us see how stark the contrast is, let’s consider the Titanic. The rudder of the Titanic weighed about 105 tons, or about as much as 80 Volkswagens. The rudder was about 59’ long and 15’ wide.
The size of the rudder seems staggering—but not when you consider that there was over 900 tons of luggage aboard the majestic ship, on its fateful voyage. To give us even better perspective about how relatively small the rudder was, consider this. Whereas the rudder of the Titanic was 59’ long, the ship was 883’ long. Whereas the rudder weighed 105 tons, the ship had a gross weight of 46,239 tons.
Yet even though the rudder was a mere 2/10 of 1% of the ship’s overall weight, it alone was the part of the vessel that determined what direction the ship traveled. Not only does the rudder steer the ship, it does so through the harshest of conditions, through stiff and unbendable winds. But unlike the horse in James’ first illustration, the rudder does not have a mind of its own. Even though the rudder is the tool by which the ship is steered, it responds to the “inclination of the pilots desires.”
The Greek word for “inclination,” or “wants” as it’s translated in the NIV, can also mean “impulse.” The word James uses here is found in only one other verse in the New Testament, in Acts 14:5, and it speaks of impulsive behavior. In Acts 14, we find Paul and Barnabas preaching in the synagogue, in Iconium.
There was division in the city, among the Jews and the Gentiles alike, regarding the apostles’ teaching. The result is what we find in verse five—“And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and stone them.” The NIV uses the word “plot” to describe the scene. The mob was acting impulsively, aggressively, with evil in their hearts.
The course of any ship is not set by the strength or severity of the winds, but by the aggressive and impulsive pressure of the pilot. Again, James’ point is clear. He who controls the rudder controls the entire ship. The size of the ship matters not. The natural force of the winds and the waves matters not. The pilot turns the wheel, that pressure moves the rudder, and the rudder—the small and often unseen appendage at the back of the ship and under the water line—determines the vessel’s direction.
And this brings us to verse five. It says, “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.” I found something interesting here. Has there been any doubt that James has been dealing with issues of the tongue in the first four verses? Yet verse five is the first time the word “tongue” is mentioned in the chapter. The reason we know that James has been talking about the tongue for the last four verses is because we’ve taken the time to look closely at what he wrote.
For those in the world who complain about the Bible’s practicality and for those in the church who are concerned about making the Bible more applicable, I think James shows us in the first half of verse five that we need not worry about improving the Scriptures. He gives us some very good application for his last two illustrations.
If a bridle could speak, it would likely boast of how easily it moves an animal so magnificent and powerful as the horse. But it can’t. If a rudder could speak, it would likely boast of how easily it moves so magnificent and powerful a machine as a large ship on the high seas. But it can’t. Such is not the case with the tongue. The desires of man apply impulsive pressure to the tongue. The tongue then turns the whole body whichever way the desires of man would have it go. But, unlike the bridle and the rudder, it does indeed boast. “It boasts of great things.”
In the spring of 1940, war between England and Germany was beginning to wage in the Atlantic. The allied fleets of America and England were still abiding by a disarmament treaty that limited the size of warships. But the Germans were building ships of gigantic proportions. One such ship, the largest ever built up to that time, was the German battleship Bismarck.
The Bismarck displaced 42,800 tons making it 22% larger than the most powerful ships of the allied fleets. It had eight 15” guns and some 80 smaller guns, most of which were antiaircraft. It could reach speeds of 31 knots. Its armor was so thick that no existing British torpedo could penetrate its hull. If the British did not hunt down the great battleship, she had the potential to single-handedly destroy the British fleet at the loss of countless lives.
On May 21st, of 1940, two Spitfire reconnaissance planes stumbled upon the great warship as they searched a Norwegian fiord. Because of poor weather and other problems, it was several days before the British would have a crack at sinking the Bismarck.
With some of the oldest biplanes still in service, and torpedoes that were, for all intents and purposes, obsolete, the British Navy attacked the Bismarck. One of the planes, with both men wounded and 175 holes in the plane from the Bismarck antiaircraft guns, made it back to the British aircraft carrier. Several of the other planes in the squadron were badly damaged.
The pilots reported with excitement that they were sure at least one of the torpedoes found its mark. The mighty Bismarck had taken a torpedo in the rudder. She was dead in the water, only able to maneuver in circles like a wounded fish. Once the British neutralized the battlewagon’s rudder, they had control of the entire ship. And on May 27th, the British navy converged on the Bismarck’s position and sunk her.
Hitler’s plan was to use the Bismarck to create a wake of destruction across the Atlantic, to bring the European fleets to their knees in submission and humiliation. Had the rudder not been damaged, it would have steered the great ship into battle after lopsided battle, destroying everything in its path.
The tongue, left unchecked, left unbridled, has the potential to do the same thing. If we want to put out the fire of the tongue, if we want to limit the harm it can do as it is steered by our sinful natures, then we must resist the all too natural desire to boast. We must resist the sinful desire to tear others down with our words. A tongue that is out of control “destroys churches, families, marriages, and personal relationships” (MacArthur, p. 154).
A tongue that is under control is one that speaks with humility, not boasting. It will be one that speaks of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (cf. Galatians 5:22-23). And what do we know about these things? They are all fruits of the Spirit.
Listen to what Paul wrote to the Galatians after listing the fruits of the Spirit. He said, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another” (Galatians 5:24-26).
We can try on our own to control our tongues, but we will inevitably fall short. For all of us fall short of the glory of God every day of our lives. The best way to put out the fire of the tongue is to ask the Lord to suffocate it with His grace, to douse it with the water of eternal life. As we’ll see next week, the fire of the tongue is not unlike a wildfire out of control, in the forest. Man, try as he might, cannot put out the fire by his own power. He hopes for rain or snow to come to quench the flames.
Listen to the words of the Lord, through the prophet Isaiah. “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:6-11).
To put out the flames of the tongue, you must not rely on your own will or desire, or rest on what you may consider to be your ability to control such a small yet powerful thing as the tongue. As the firefighter who stands amidst the flames hopes for rain or snow, pray that the Lord, by His sovereign will, will give you the gift of grace and mercy. For it is by His grace, through faith that you are saved; and it is only after receiving that precious gift of salvation that you can truly hope to put out the fire of the tongue.
