And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. 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.

James 3:6-8 

When we consider James’ descriptions regarding the tongue, we are made aware of just how careful we need to be with our words. He describes the tongue as a fire. Consider the fact that fire can either be useful (to keep us warm) or destructive (as being burned). The tongue is a fire and has the capacity to do either.

Also, the tongue is “the very world of iniquity.” The idea of iniquity is to violate God’s Law and to work against His designed purpose for our lives. The “very world of iniquity” indicates to us that the tongue is able to take us down the road of transgression or obedience, destruction or life, misery or happiness.

Our tongues are able to defile our entire body. Consider the words of Jesus:

“It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

                                                                                                                 Matthew 15:11 

If we really understood the gravity of that declaration, I believe it would have a tremendous impact on they way that we speak about others. Our words have the capacity to mar or soil the entire body.

The tongue “sets on fire the course of our life.” Like the analogy of the ship, James reminds us again that the very direction of our lives is determined by our words. There are many factors in determining how others will react to our presence but our words and the way in which we treat others will have a profound effect in our ability to positively influence them.

I believe that the church should take an honest look at and do a thorough examination of just how our methods are working in reaching the culture. I believe that it would be greatly irresponsible to ignore our behavior, flippantly contributing a lack of effectiveness on the hardness of other’s hearts. Indeed, some people will reject the gospel but we should always make sure that we have clearly and accurately presented it, including in our words and actions.

But James isn’t through yet. He tells us that the tongue is “set on fire by hell.” The sinful nature that we each possess as a result of the transgression of Adam usually shows up loud and clear in the use of our words. I believe that this is partially to what James is referring when he brings up the influence that hell has on our tongues. He goes on to describe our tongues as a “restless evil” and something that is “full of deadly poison.”

When we consider the power that our words have and combine that with an acknowledgement that “no one can tame the tongue”, it would only make sense for us to make it a priority in prayer that God will strengthen us to have all wisdom and control when using of our words (Ephesians 3:16, James 1:5).

Let us always remember that although we cannot “undo” the words that flow from our mouths, we have the privilege and obligation to go and make right anything that might be coming between us and another individual as a result of our words (Matthew 5:23-24). Apologies do not dismiss the words spoken but the power of forgiveness can sooth the soul hurt either by our offensive words or those spoken to us.