Untamed

“For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” (James 3:7-8)

All kinds of animals, reptiles, dolphins, parrots have been tamed and trained. Dogs seek out drugs in areas where drug enforcement agents suspect such activity. But, only God can tame the tongue. Even the warning in the Bible that says, “...and all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire which burns with fire and brimstone…” (Revelation 21:8) doesn't tame the tongue. Only God can tame the tongue.

The tongue is an “unruly” evil. Being “unruly” it reminds me of a fire hose, with the water turned on full force with no one in control. It flips, and flops and goes around in circles, back and forth, up and down, spraying everything and everyone in its path. That’s a picture of the tongue out of control.

Several years ago I worked for a pest control company. We had a poison called “1080,” (pronounced ten-eighty) used primarily for control of rats. It was very dangerous and I was never allowed to use it by myself. My boss and I went late at night and set it out and picked it up very early the next morning. If a rat drank a little of it he would go about two feet and fall over dead. If a cat got a bite of the rat he would die almost immediately. And, if a dog ate the cat it would die. That is a perfect description of the tongue, full of deadly poison, waiting to pass on some juicy morsel of gossip and maim or kill those in its path.