James now turns from discussing the controlled tongue to one that is uncontrolled. Controlled it can do so much good, but uncontrolled it can do much harm. We have the illustration in this and the next verse of uncontrolled fire.

"... a little member ..." Like the bit of the horse and the helm of the ship, the tongue is a very small part of the body but it is of vast importance. It can be a great power for good, and also a great power for evil. Sad to say, its natural bent is toward evil. For this reason it must be constantly curbed.

Tongue most active: The tongue is one of the most active members of the body. It gives us more contact with others than any other member. Because of these things it can do the most good and the most evil. It is also capable of the greatest variety of evil.

Communication: In recent years man has invented many devices for enlarging the power of the tongue. We have the phonograph, the television, the telephone, the radio and the sound systems. These have been a power for good, and also for evil. The telephone especially has been a great device for speaking gossip. To oral communication has been added many new forms of written agencies, such as our mail system, the computer, the telegraph, the printing press, and word processors. All these things, and more, add to the sins of men for which they must give account.

"... boasteth great things ..." In our verse, James especially mentions boasting. Men boast of what they have done in the past, what they are doing now, and what they intend to do in the future. The little word "I" is the most used in the English language. There is nothing folks like to talk about more than themselves. It evidences pride in the human heart. In fact, it has been used far too much in this writing.

Boast against God: Pharaoh boasted against God. He said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?" The Lord won that battle, and Pharaoh and his hosts perished in the Red Sea.

A boasting man: The story is told of a man who from the top of a hill stretched his sword toward heaven and defied the Almighty to come down and fight with him. As the last words came out of his mouth a bug lodged in his throat and choked him to death.

Nebuchadnezzar's boasts: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's image. They were brought before him and questioned about their refusal. He promised them another opportunity, then adds, "But if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you?" (Dan. 3:15). That was the wrong thing to say, because it was a challenge to the Almighty. They were delivered out of the fiery furnace.

He still boasts: Nebuchadnezzar still boasts in Daniel 4:30, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?" The same hour he lost his reason and was driven out into the fields to live like a wild beast.

The rich farmer: The rich farmer in Luke 12:16-20, boasted about what he was going to do with all his fruits and his goods. He uses the words "I" and "my" ten times in three short verses. The Lord says to him, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?"

Satan boasted great things: We hear Satan boasting in Isaiah 14:12-15. He said in his heart, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation ... I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most high". Five times in two verses he says, "I will". The Lord states his doom in verse 15; "Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit".

Boast in their religion: It is possible for a man to boast in his religion and yet not be right with God. Paul in writing to the Jews said, "Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God" (Rom. 2:17). He goes on to say that in spite of this they were a long way from being right with God. Who has not heard people boast of their: preacher, church, or religion, while all the time they give no evidence of trusting or obeying Christ. A man often boasted of his church. It was later learned that he got drunk about twice a week.

Boast not: The Lord hates boasting. "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9). Works are eliminated as a means of salvation because the Lord wants no boasting. Proverbs 27:1 tells of the foolishness of boasting, because we know not what a day may bring. Let us learn to hold our tongues, unless it is to boast of our Savior. All we have and are we owe to Him. The apostle asks the question, "What hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?" (1 Cor. 4:7).

Another illustration from nature: In the latter part of our verse, James pictures the dreadfulness of the tongue. He says it is like unchecked fire. The Revised Version has "wood" instead of "matter." "Behold, how much wood is kindled by how small a fire." Some versions have "forest," and this is probably what James has in mind. A little fire sets a great forest ablaze; with it goes: homes, schools, church buildings, factories, barns, cattle, people, and everything in its path.

The Chicago fire: They say the great Chicago fire in 1871, which burned down about one-third of the city, was started by a cow kicking over a lantern. 17,450 buildings were destroyed, 250 people perished – 100,000 made homeless. A little fire and a little word alike can start a terrible conflagration. Little things: Little things often grow into big things. An accidental meeting or incident can change a life. A bird drops a pine seedling and a forest results. A small kind word sows a great friendship; a small unkind word a great enmity. An unwise word may be the start of great trouble that goes on for years, causing much strife and grief.

Fire hurts: There is nothing more painful than a burn. Even a little burn on the hand can cause suffering. Likewise, a little word may cause pain to some human heart: piercing like a sword (Prov. 12:18), or cutting like a razor (Ps. 52:2). Some have been mortally wounded by the unkind use of words.

Fire spreads: As long as there is material to burn and it is unchecked, a fire will spread farther and farther. A tongue is like that. A man gets an idea; he conveys it to someone else, he in turn to someone else until thousands may believe it and spread it. If the idea is wicked it may do untold damage. The theory of evolution has been like this. These things remind us of Psalms 73:9, "They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth."

Fire consumes: Fire is a great destroyer. It will destroy anything combustible that gets in its path. If uncontrolled it will bring destruction and devastation. A tongue may do the same. An evil tongue has destroyed many a home and many a work for God. It has even destroyed lives and caused souls to be lost. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Prov. 18:21). Let us be careful to keep this dreadfully dangerous weapon thoroughly in check. To speak recklessly is as bad as spreading fire.

Fire serves: Although fire unchecked is a terrible menace, controlled it is a real friend. We could not live in the temperate zones if we did not have fire to keep us warm in the winter. We use it in many ways in the home and in industry. In fact, our civilization could not exist without it. Likewise, the tongue controlled is a real friend. A kind word, how good it is; a word of testimony for Christ, accomplishes much good. The book of Proverbs tells a great deal of the evils of the tongue, but also tells of its good. The very verse that speaks of the tongue piercing as a sword says, "But the tongue of the wise is health" (Prov. 12:18). "He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life" (Prov. 13:3).

Scripture Reading: James 3:6 (KJV)

This verse is a scathing condemnation of the tongue. It is a fire; it is a world of iniquity; it defiles the whole body; it sets fire to the whole cycle of life; it is inflamed by the diabolians of hell.

"... the tongue is a fire ..." What a terrible thing the tongue can be. Like fire, uncontrolled speech pains, sears, ruins, kills. Every once in a while the papers tell of some terrible holocaust, like the Coconut Grove fire near Boston, or the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey circus tent in Hartford. Every day the tongues of men cause holocausts much worse than these. "An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is a burning fire" (Prov. 16:27).

"... a world of iniquity ..." When James says the tongue is "a world of iniquity" he emphasizes the vastness of evil it is capable of producing. It has endless possibilities of sin, and is an inexhaustible source of wickedness, an overflowing abundance of evil. The Scripture is full of examples of the havoc the tongue is able to produce.

Satan's tongue: First of all we have Satan's wicked tongue. He beguiled Eve into distrusting the Lord. He said, "Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:4, 5). This lie not only caused Eve and then Adam to sin, but brought sin into the world and death by sin.

Balaam's counsel: The children of Israel had nearly finished the wilderness journey from Egypt to Canaan. They came to the plains of Moab just across Jordan from Jericho. The Moabitish king, Balak, offered Balaam money if he would curse Israel, but this the Lord would not permit him to do. We read this story in Numbers 22 and 24. Than in chapter 25 we see the children of Israel committing whoredom with the daughters of Moab, and worshipping their gods. This greatly angered the Lord and He caused a plague to come among them, and 24,000 Israelites died. As we turn to Numbers 31:16 we read that this was all planned by the Moabites according to the counsel of Balaam. Balaam no doubt said something like this to Balak; "The Lord will not permit me to curse Israel, but I can tell you a more effective way to bring God's wrath upon them. Send your young women among them to entice them to fornication, and then get them to bow down to your gods." This wicked counsel brought not only sin, but death to this great number of people. Oh, the tongue; what a propensity it has for evil.

Doeg's betrayal: Doeg, the Edomite, told Saul how the priest, Ahimelech had given David food and Goliath's sword. Although he knew that Ahimelech was entirely innocent and knew nothing of David's difficulties with Saul, yet of this Doeg said not a word. As a result of this one sided report, eighty-five priests and the whole city of Nob were destroyed by Saul (1 Sam. 21 and 22).

Other examples of evil tongues: Through fair speeches Delilah enticed Samson to reveal the secret of his great strength. This caused Samson to lose his strength, his liberty, and eventually his life (Judg. 16). Absalom, through flattery, stole the hearts of the children of the ten tribes. This led to his rebellion against his own father, and his own death. Through her false witnesses Jezebel brought on the death of Naboth. This brought on her doom, and also that of her husband, King Ahab. King Rehoboam spoke roughly to the representatives of the ten tribes. This caused the kingdom to be split in two (2 Chron. 10:13-16).

Like the wicked world: In all these examples we see how the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. No wonder Paul could say, "Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit: the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness" (Rom. 3:13, 14). They say that our verse is literally, "The tongue maketh itself like the wicked world". This would indicate that it was not so created, but that it made itself an instrument of wickedness.

"... it defileth the whole body ..." The tongue is not only defiled itself, but it has a defiling effect on the whole body. The whole body is drawn into sin by the tongue. It not only commits sin, but it suggests sin to self and to others. It is also forever excusing or defending sin. This latter the tongue has been doing ever since Adam and Eve tried to excuse their sin in the Garden of Eden.

"Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of his mouth, this defileth a man" (Matt. 15:11).

"... setteth on fire the course of nature ..." The Revised Version translates "the course of nature" as "the wheel of nature". Evil radiates out from the tongue like spokes do from a wheel. The wheel of nature starts rolling at birth and continues on till death. The tongue is the principal trouble maker in this wheel. It may cause a whole cycle of evil. Many a tongue is a scatterer of fire brands. A little lie, a little fit of temper, a little gossip, or even a little bit of ridicule, may be fanned into a terrible conflagration by a little breeze from hell.

"... is set on fire of hell." The word "hell" in our verse is gehenna in the original. The Lord Jesus is the only one besides James who uses this word. It refers to the valley of Hinnom outside of Jerusalem where the refuse from the city was burned. It is a type of the place of torment. Hell is the place where the refuse of the world is sent.

Hell – a real place: Some today scoff at the idea of a real hell, but the Word of God in many places testifies that there is such a place. The Bible also testifies that the unsaved and unfaithful will find themselves in it someday. Hell is usually pictured as a place of fire. The Lord Jesus said, "Whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire" (Matt. 5:22). Twice He calls hell a place of fire in Matthew 18:8, 9. The rich man said, "I am tormented in this flame" (Luke 16:24). We also read in Revelation 20:14, 15 of the "lake of fire". Jude speaks of it as "the blackness of darkness for ever". It is everywhere pictured as a place of torment to be avoided at all costs. The Lord Jesus, who should know, spoke of it more than anyone else. He would never have spoken of it the way He did unless He knew it existed. All unsaved and unfaithful ones should quickly flee to the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and so from the wrath to come.

There should be a hell: The story is told of a man who was bold in his assertions there was no hell. Then, a young man stole the affections of his young daughter, taking her off to a distant city, there betraying her into a life of sin. A year or so later she came home to her father, broken in spirit and health. This caused the father to change his mind. He said, “If there is no hell there should be for such beasts as the betrayer of my daughter.”

Satan is also real: Some today also scoff at the idea of a personal devil. The Word of God everywhere testifies that he, too, is real. He was in the Garden of Eden. He tried Job. He tempted the Lord Jesus. He put Peter through his sieve. He filled Ananias' heart to lie against the Holy Ghost (Acts 5:3). He is pictured as deceiving the whole world (Rev. 12:9).

Terrible tongues: And where did this tongue get such terrible wickedness; such fire that pains, consumes, and defiles? It got it from the devil, ignited from the fires of hell. Sometimes it seems to contain dynamite. The devil lights the fuse, there is a terrible explosion, and the havoc wrought is stupendous. Sometimes one has “the smell of hell hanging on his lips.” Some tongues reek with obscenity and vulgarity.

Set on fire from above: We read of tongues of fire at Pentecost in Acts 2. On this occasion the tongues of the disciples were set on fire by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the wonderful story of love in a marvelous way. How wonderful when our tongues are set on fire from above. What a wonderful influence for good they can be. They can lead souls to put their trust in the Lord Jesus; they can warm and gladden the hearts of those who belong to Him.

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