Taming the Tongue

Discipleship Devotional, March 28th, 2025

“Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.”
—Proverbs 21:23 (NIV)

One organ of the body that the Bible constantly warns us to control is the tongue. There’s a plethora of scriptures that instruct us to be careful and mindful of the words we speak. Words are like arrows; the moment they are shot out, they can’t be taken back. The Apostle James, in his epistle, spoke extensively on the importance of taming the tongue. He explained that an untamed tongue is a “world of evil” which gets its inspiration from hell.

“We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 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. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”
—James 3:2–6 (NIV)

He compares the tongue to the steering of a boat. That is to say, just as the boat moves in whatever direction the steering turns, our lives move in whatever direction our words lead. That’s a profound fact. He then concluded by saying such a tongue is inspired by hell, stating, “It is set on fire by hell.”

The Apostle Paul also gave firm admonitions in his epistles about taming the tongue. In Colossians 4:6, he said that our speech should always be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that we would know how to speak to people. He also said in Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”

Prayer:
Holy Spirit, help me to exercise self-control over my tongue. Help me to tame my tongue so that all my words are seasoned with salt and minister grace to my hearers.