The Tongue Can No Man Tame James 3:8

James, the “servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”, shared with “the twelve tribes scattered abroad” concerning the destructive nature of the “tongue”. He shared how “every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed of mankind”, and in chapter three and verse eight of his letter he declared “the tongue can no man tame” where we read:

But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

The verse begins, “But the tongue can no man tame;” James began with the word, “But” which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be written takes precedence over what was previously stated, “the tongue” or “the small member of the body used as an organ of speech” “can no man” which refers to “human beings whether male or female” “tame” which means “curbed, restrained and brought under control”. James, in contrast to all the beasts and creatures that can be brought under control, proclaimed that the “tongue” is beyond the ability to restrain.

The verse goes on to say, “it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” James added, “it is an unruly” or “unrestrained and out of control” “evil” which means “bad, wrong, wickedness, troublesome, injurious, pernicious, destructive and baneful”, “full of deadly” which means “replete with that which brings or bears death, fatal” “poison” or “rust, venom, reviling, calumniating and injuring others”. James' conclusion was the core makeup of the “tongue” was to proclaim “unrestrained wickedness” like a “life threatening venom”.

When we think through these words of James, we should concur with his insightful conclusion concerning the “tongue”. When we are honest with ourselves, all of us have said things we regret. Jesus knows this, and He loves us still. Our “tongues” can do much damage to relationships, and if this is our current situation perhaps daunting memories of “words” either spoken to or heard from others penetrate our minds. If so, we should bring all our utterances, both past and present, before the altar of God, allow Him to cleanse us with His Holy Spirit who is able to “tame” our “tongues” which is far along from our own capabilities.

Next time James shares how we “bless God” and “curse men” with our tongues, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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