Vestry Devotional March: Taming the Tongue

Each month I select a devotional reflection with my vestry. This month was about asking how we are called to model healthy and holy speech for the congregation.

4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

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. – James 3:4-10

The smallest things often make the biggest difference. Before the discovery of penicillin and other antibiotics, a small cut could mean death. The same is true in the spiritual life. Think back to a time when you might have been teased. How much did it hurt to be called a name or to have one of your features mocked? Today words are more prolific than ever before as the Internet age has blessed/cursed us with being able to reach virtually anyone at any time. This means that the words that we say have more power than ever before. 

St. James knew that the most difficult thing for a human being to control was their tongue. We have the power to build people up or knock them down, to encourage them in their daily struggles, or to mock them when they have fallen. The vestry of a Church must set the example of how to speak. As Christians, we have been called to a higher purpose and a higher standard. Remember that even just a few words of encouragement can turn a person’s life around. Do our words encourage or discourage?  Are our words of God or of the world? How tame is your tongue?