James (W6D4) Deadly Poison

Week 6. Thursday: Deadly Poison

PRAY: Ask God to speak to you from His Word.

READ: James 3:7-8

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.

UNDERSTAND: get a deeper understanding of the key words

All kinds of animals...have been tamed by mankind: It is ironic that we have the ability and control to tame all kinds of animals. We are even willing to put forth much effort to train an animal. But we struggle to practice self-control.
No human being can tame the tongue: James is pointing out that no one can perfectly tame the tongue. But that does not give us an excuse to be careless with our words. Taming the tongue is a matter of humility and self-control. These are part of the Fruit of the Spirit that should always be growing in us (Galatians 5:22-23).
A restless evil: The Greek word for restless is akatastatos which can also be translated to mean unstable and unpredictable. If we do not practice the discipline of self-control, our words will be careless and destructive. As believers we are called to speak words that build others up (Ephesians 4:29).
Full of deadly poison: We usually don’t think of our words as being deadly. But God’s word tells us that our words have the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21).