“For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:7-8).
A glorious truth about Jesus’ gospel is that it makes possible the impossible. Entering the kingdom of God via salvation from your sins is impossible with men, but with God it is possible (Matthew 19:23-26). This is as good as “good news” can get.
James’ sobering yet accurate words above paint a powerful portrait of the dark possibilities of the human tongue: untamable, an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Without Christ and His example of committing no sin with His mouth, even in the most trying of times (1 Peter 2:21-23), taming your tongue is impossible. Though you may not always use your tongue sinlessly as Christ did, you can use it to sin less and less.
This is how it ought to be.
