First Christian Church - Elizabethtown, Ky

How many times have we said something we wish we could take back—mean, hurtful, proud or ugly words? In James, Chapter 3:1-12, we get a warning about our words. He does not just come out and say “watch your words” or “be careful how you talk to each other.” Instead, he chooses to spend his time telling us how powerful, evil, uncontrollable, sinful and inconsistent our tongues are. Here are some examples of what our tongues can do: • Is small but makes great boasts (verse 5) • Corrupts the whole person (verse 6) • Can set the whole course of a person’s life on fire (verse 6) • Cannot be tamed by man (verse 8) • Is a restless evil, full of deadly poison (verse 8) • Can be used to praise God and curse men (verse 9) This passage paints a pretty discouraging picture. Our tongues are messed up; they are broken. When we read these verses, we should have a couple of responses. First, since it is so powerful, we need to be careful how we use our tongue. We should guard our words and be slow to speak. Our second res