And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the cycle of nature, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no human being can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be so. James 3:6–10 (RSV)
Language is a gift. It is a treasure beyond all other treasures of the earth. People who have been dust for thousands of years still speak in lands and to peoples they scarce could have imagined. When we add music to language, it can express the depths of human emotions. Language can build empires, sustaining them year upon year. It can also bring to ruin all that generations have labored build.
Who could count the words they have spoken in a lifetime? Of those words, how many have been a blessing, how many an evil inflicted on others? St. James grasped a powerful truth about us, we humans, for we use our tongues to bless and curse. We offer praise to God and destroy our neighbor with the same tongue. Words offered in worship and prayer on Sunday are undone by the words that spew from our lips on Monday. As James wrote, 'My brethren, this ought not to be so." Our Lord Jesus did not waste His words. He spoke what needed to be spoken. Words did not cascade from His mouth, harming any who got in His way. When He spoke, it was to lead us to blessing and redemption.
We live in a time unlike any other in the history of human speech. Words wash over us each day in a flood that would have rendered our ancestors dumfounded. Of the tens of thousands of words surrounding us each day, how many are of any blessing? Can we say that we treasure a tenth of the words we say and hear in a given day?
God, by His Word, called all things into being has given language and speech responsibility. This greatest of all His gifts must be used to give God our Father glory, bring blessing to our neighbors, and cast beauty over all the Father's creation.