Click here for the James 3:7-12 PODCAST
7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. ~ James 3:7-12
Today, we continue in our study of the maturation process of the faith of the believer in Christ. The overriding purpose of the Epistle of James is to help believers get to real spiritual maturity. And, these early Christians to whom James wrote this letter were facing tremendously bad persecution. They were being intensely slandered, but James reminded them to resist stooping to the level of those who were not in God's family. To speak evil of others, even when they speak evil of us, reveals we lack the wisdom of God.
In v.7-8 of today's text we read, "7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison."
God gave mankind the ability to tame the animals, but man can not control the expressions of his heart. In this text, James does not say the tongue can’t be controlled, he says man can not control his tongue. The first recorded sin in the Bible, after the Fall, was Adam's accusation that God was responsible for sin. Interestingly, the first thing that happened after the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost was that all of the believers in the Lord Jesus immediately spoke of the wonderful works of God.
In v.8 of today's text, James reminds us that the tongue "is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." The word "restless" is the same word translated "unstable" in James 1:8. The tongue is impossible to control if we are not living in submission to God's will. This explains how believers can say the most awesome thing one minute, and then, the most hellacious the next.
James instructs us that the tongue is "full of deadly poison." A snake has a special gland in the roof of his mouth called a Jacobson’s Gland. When the snake wags his tongue, he gathers scents around him on it. Then he sticks the two tips of his tongue onto the two corresponding holes in his Jake Gland. The gland sends the data to his brain, which processes the gathered knowledge. Our tongues are not so beneficial, and in reality, the words we say are even more poisonous.
In v.9 of today's passage we read, "9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.
On the one hand, we bless God, but, on the other, we curse humans. When God brought us into a personal relationship with Him, He started the process of transforming us. One of the ways He brings about our transformation is through the changing of the way we think and what we communicate. While transforming us, God gives us the capacity for new speech, and this new way to communicate reflects the presence of God in our lives. And, when we speak badly of others, we actually are informing others that we are fighting God's will for our lives.
In v.10-11 of today's text we read, "10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?"
To be born again only supplies the possibility of living according to the leading of God in our lives. To be born again does not make authentic spiritual living automatic. The true Christian can, and often does, manifest phony righteousness, though he can also yield godly righteousness. The key is who do we allow to call the shots in our lives in a given moment.
In v.12 of today's passage we read, "My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."
When we serve the enemy, it does not make sense for us to do so, although, we all do it from time to time. It does not make sense for us to understand the battle that is daily taking place and choosing to serve the enemy. James likens this to fresh and salty water coming from the same source; it just does not make sense because it is impossible for fresh and salty water to come from the same source.
When we garner God's wisdom, we will recognize and heed the lessons that even nature actively teaches us. Fig trees do not bear olives, nor do grapevines bear figs. It just doesn't happen that way. Nor should a believer in Christ curse his fellow man. That which is in our hearts produces what comes out of our lives. Critical words come from a critical heart. Destructive speech issues from a heart where the love of the Lord Jesus is a stranger.
