James 3:5-8
Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 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.

Sometimes the smallest spark can do extensive damage. The smallest flame can cause an entire house to burn down. One match could cause a wildfire that destroys acres of land. Sometimes it takes so little to consume something entirely. And too often we play with fire and let it get out of control when we don’t restrain our tongue from having its way. The things we say can lead to great hurt and destruction. Relationships can be ruined. Ministries can collapse. We may even lead someone away from trusting Christ and a lost soul can go to hell.

There is great power in what we say and sometimes even how we say it. Words can cut to the heart. Words can linger in someone’s mind for decades. What we say can have a negative effect on so many aspects of another person’s life. So what do we do about this unruly evil, this member that cannot be tamed? What can we do if we don’t have the power or ability to control what we say to others? Like so many things, we must surrender it to the Lord. We must depend on His power to overcome something in which we are powerless.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance, all things that can go a long way in restraining our tongues. Out of a loving heart, we’ll choose the kind and compassionate thing to say. Out of a joyful heart, we’ll choose encouraging words. When we’re full of peace, we’ll choose calm and soothing words. With longsuffering, we’ll not be hasty or impulsive in what we say. With gentleness, we’ll choose less provoking words and avoid needless conflict. With goodness, we’ll seek to edify and build someone up with our words. With faith, we’ll trust God to guide our speech. With meekness, we’ll be humbled by our own weaknesses and cut others some slack. With temperance, we won’t indulge ourselves in the satisfaction of some snarky comeback or getting in the last word. Instead, we can learn to have grace and patience with others and let those things control our tongues so we are no longer led by our own evil hearts.