James, Day 3
James 3
I was still learning to drive when I had one of the scariest encounters behind the wheel I’ve had in my entire life. I was learning to drive on a street with cars parked on it, paying careful attention to my spacing between them on my right and the double yellow line on my left. I looked up and saw that the light had changed from green to yellow. I went to press the brake and there was no resistance. My foot went right to the floor! I began to panic! Thinking the brakes went out and I was going to get in an accident and never get my license, I panicked. Luckily, the panic only lasted for a moment and I began to feel the car slowly come to a stop. You see, the reason my brakes didn’t work was because the driving instructor had already determined that I was not going to make the correct decision (even though I thought I was) and took control with the special brake he had on his side of the car — thus taking control and stopping the car.
Sometimes, I wish God would operate like that driving instructor: Looking into the future and taking control of my actions when He sees that I’m approaching a reaction in a conversation with someone where I’m going to blow right past what He wants me to do and respond out of my earthly nature. You know those times when someone hits a nerve or you’ve heard the same thing over and over again and you’re just tired of hearing it, or maybe you’re just having a bad day and little comments you could normally overlook make your blood boil.
James 3:5 says, “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.” There is incredible power in our tongue. In this chapter, James compares our tongue to a bridle in a horse’s mouth or a rudder on a ship. Though they are small, they dictate where the horse or ship is going. Then, James goes into how every wild animal can be tamed but no man can tame the tongue. If not tamed, our tongues can set our whole world ablaze, and not in a good way like one may be considered “on fire for Jesus.” More in the way that a forest fire leaves a wake of destruction, burning down everything in its path.
James 3:10 says, “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” If we cannot tame our tongue, how do we get to a place that honors God? It comes down to who’s driving the car. Every moment of our life is a battle for control between our earthly nature and spiritual nature. The way we get to a place where we honor God with our words is to allow him to drive. Not just in the situations where we think we need help, but in all situations. The solution is not to just resign ourselves to driving recklessly for the rest of our life or to keep the car in the garage — instead, it’s to change drivers. It’s allowing God to transform us on every level, all the way down to the core of who we are. Proverbs 4:23 tells us that it is out of the heart that the spring of life flows. In other words, what is in control at the core of our being will determine the action and direction of every other thing in our life.
Our words have consequences. They reflect our hearts. Whether they be intentional or accidental, spoken or typed, our words have a tremendous impact. A little spark can set the whole forest ablaze. Do your words reflect a heart ruled by the grace of God or do they reflect a heart ruled by love of self? Let us choose our words wisely.
Adam Deering