The Power Of The Tongue

The power of the tongue! Lives have been both lifted and ruined by the tongue. Nations and civilizations have risen and fallen to the tongue. Goodness and mercy have streamed like a gentle river from our speech, but so has a cesspool of filth. The tiny tongue wields a mighty power in our lives.

Think of that one hurtful text message or a Facebook post that someone said, “You should kill yourself or KYS,” that led to someone actually doing something drastic (self-harm or attempted suicide). As parents, think of the unrealistic expectation that you place on your children – saying, “Why can’t you do this? Why can’t you be like this person?” and the effect that has on your child, or that one phrase that you say to your spouse in the heat of the argument – which you immediately regret saying right after, and wish you could take it back – but it’s already been said – the damage is done. Reputations ruined, relationships scarred, families broken – because of the tongue…

So, it is crucial for us as believers to control our tongues—before our tongues control our lives and wreak havoc—we need to conquer our tongues—before they conquer us. There is a technique called “grappling” in wrestling in which one attempts to take down their opponent and place them into a submission hold. And James, in our text today, emphasizes a similar idea as he speaks about the power of our words. He insists that we need to control our tongues… or tackle our tongues into submission, because if we let our words loose, not only will it grow increasingly difficult to control, but it will also wreak havoc in our lives.

In this message – I want to draw our attention specifically to the three metaphors in verses 3-6 that James uses to describe the different aspects of the tongue – to see the danger it poses if it is not controlled, but also the blessing that comes, as one finally brings the speech into submission…

First, we need to control the tongue because if you can control the tongue, you can control the whole body. In verse 3, James illustrates this by using the image of a horse. We know that a horse is an incredibly powerful animal; an average horse weighs about 1000 pounds and can pull a carriage that is two or three times its weight. Some horses bred specifically for pulling can even pull up to ten times their weight. Without a burden, that same horse can sprint a quarter mile in about 20-25 seconds. For reference, a Lamborghini completes a quarter mile in about 10 seconds. Thus, the horse epitomizes raw and uncontrolled power! James associates the tongue with this idea. However, put a bridle and a bit in its mouth, and place a one-hundred-pound child who knows what he is doing – and the horse can literally be made to dance…

So, what James is getting at is that the tiny little bit in a horse is tremendously important because that bit differentiates between constructive power and destructive power. The controlled horse can be used constructively to move things or get places quickly, while the uncontrolled horse will only bring destruction.

The tongue is the same—something as small as the tongue has tremendous power. It has the potential to create constructive or destructive power. If you can control your tongue to utter only God-honoring, people-loving words, you will wield tremendous power to do good in your lives. You can abstain from the most difficult sins or temptations, becoming a perfect (or whole) person, as James likes to emphasize in his letters. We will see shortly why speech is so important to James; it indeed has that much power!

The second reason is that if you can control your tongue, you will stay on course in your journey of faith. Your relationship with God will not be affected until the day you meet Jesus in heaven—all because you can control your tongue.

This is what I mean: the second image James uses is in verse 4, where he illustrates a ship and a rudder. It conveys the same idea as the horse. Ships, regardless of their size, are controlled by the rudder—a small part at the back of the ship, usually just a fraction of its size—that directs the entire vessel and its course. Control the rudder, and you control the entire ship. It’s a similar analogy to the horse and the bit.

But what I want to draw your attention to is this: James introduces the influences of outside forces. Verse 4 states that the ship is driven by strong winds—winds and waves that can take the ship off course or destroy it altogether. Here, the second analogy that James uses differs slightly because the weather and the wind exemplify outside influences on the ship. The person who maintains control of the rudder, much like the person who controls the tongue, can navigate difficult circumstances and stay on course.