James shared an
entire discourse with his readers concerning the “offensive nature”
of the “tongue”. He employed examples of horses'
“bridles”, ships' “rudders” and a small flame to demonstrate
how powerful the “little” tongue can be. Though “wild beasts”
and “sea creatures” have been “tamed” by people, “the
tongue can no man tame”, and in chapter three and verse nine of
his letter, James shared how with the same tongue people “bless
God” and “curse men” where we read:
Therewith
bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men,
which are
made after the similitude of God.
The
verse begins, “Therewith bless we God, even the Father;”
James began with the word,
“Therewith” which
means “by, with and through the same” “bless”
or “praise, celebrate and consecrate with solemn prayers” “we
God” which refers to “the
Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father,
Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”, “even” or
“and, indeed and also” “the Father”
which refers to “the generator, transmitter and originator of
family and society of persons”. James referred to the way he and
his readers “praise, celebrate and consecrate with solemn prayers”
God Almighty our Heavenly Father.
The
verse goes on to say, “...and therewith curse we men,
which are made after the similitude of God.” James
continued, “and therewith”
or “by, with and through the same” “curse we”
which means “doom, execrate and imprecate evil upon” “men”
or “human beings whether male or female”, “which are
made” which means “become or
come into existence, happen, arise and appear in history as though
coming upon the stage” “after the similitude”
or “down from, through out, according to, toward and along
likeness, assimilation and resemblance” “of God”
who is “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God
the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”. James told his
readers they used the same “tongue”
to “praise, celebrate and consecrate with solemn prayers to” God,
but then used it to “doom, execrate and imprecate evil upon”
people whom God created after His image.
When
we think through these words of James, we may be convicted in our
spirits concerning the use of our words. Do we give praise and glory
unto God with one breath and “curse” other people with the
next? Do we exalt the Lord Jesus and condemn others with our words?
James' exhortation and conclusion is that we do both with our
“tongues”, and the implication is that this verbalization
should be far from us. Let us humble ourselves before the Lord Jesus
as we consider our words, ask Him to convict us before we speak
disparagingly of others, and show us how to give “glory” to God
while “blessing” those with whom we have to do.
Next
time James shares about “blessing
and cursing”
coming from “the same
mouth”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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