TOPIC:‌"The Little Member that Creates Great Mischief"

                  by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌James 3:1-12

 

‌‌"But no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison"

‌‌(James 3:8, NIV)

 

‌The part of the body that I want to discuss with you today is found in every ones mouth. It is the little member that creates great mischief. It is the tongue. Washington Irving, the great American writer and thinker, was right when he stated: "The tongue is the only tool that grows sharper with constant use." The plain fact is that the tongue may be something HELPFUL bringing glory to God and blessing to people, or it may be something HARMFUL bringing sadness to God and pain to people.

 

‌This man James who speaks in our text has much to say throughout his Epistle about the use and misuse of the tongue. He shows us very pointedly that the way the Christian uses their tongue is the indicator of their spiritual health. It can tell each one of us the temperature of our spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ. Let us now consider the right and wrong use of this organ as set forth by the Apostle James.

 

I.

 

‌Consider, first of all, ILLUSTRATIONS that DEMONSTRATE the POWER of the tongue. Here in the verses before us James makes use of four examples that describe the powerful influence of the tongue. We have before us - the bit and the horse. The rudder and the ship. The spark and the forest. The fountain and the water.

 

‌First of all, the tongue has power to DISCIPLINE. In verse 3 James states: "When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal." Here is what James is telling us. A very small bit can control a big horse. We can make a large horse turn around and go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. In the same way, a person who controls their tongue can control their whole body.

 

‌Then, also, the tongue has the power to DIRECT. Turn now to the words found in verse 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." The ships in the days of James were difficult to direct as they were very large and were guided by a very small rudder that was attached to the back of a ship. And yet, that little rudder was able to direct that huge ship through the water.

 

‌Likewise our tongue . . .