All You Need is Love Daily Devotional -2

JAMES 3:4-9 | ⁴ Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. ⁵ So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! ⁶ And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. ⁷ For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. 

In our broken world every good and precious gift can be misused and abused. This includes language. Words can be used to obscure things, befuddle, and confuse others. Speech can be employed to manipulate or deceive. It can demean or defile someone. Words can be weapons that break hearts, mar psyches, start conflicts, and create chaos. They can bless or curse.

Speech always carries risks. James makes two essential points about this. First, speech is notoriously hard to control, and second, it can be hugely destructive, just like a forest fire.

 How good are you at controlling your speech?

What is hardest for you to avoid doing: judging, condemning, gossiping, criticizing, lying, or telling partial truths?

Tags: curse, speech, bless