Taming the Tongue, Part 2

James 3:7-11

For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.

With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.

Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?

To finish up this thought process of "Taming the Tongue" I want to focus on 3 specific sections or words in these verses that I believe James uses to drive his point home.

They are "full of deadly poison" (vs. 8), the word "curse or cursing" (vs. 9&10), and the word "bitter" (vs. 11).

James equates the tongue as being full of "deadly" poison for a reason. Gossip and backbiting can literally doom a church; which leads us to the word curse.

kataraomai is the Greek word for curse and literally means to speak DOOM into someones life. (Which of course is the exact opposite of what blessing is)

When doom and gloom is all that comes out of the mouths of those in the church then nothing but "bitterness" is what comes out...WOW what coincidence!!!

This is why James uses the very terminology he does to explain that the tongue can ruin the body of Christ if we let it turn the freshness and blessings of God into nothing but bitter poison used by the enemy to curse and ruin it.

There's really no place for the believer to allow both the blessing of God and the cursing of one another in the body of Christ.

So in the words of Rodney King....Can't we all just get along!!??

Peace out.

P Biddy