Forest Aflame

James 3 cont’d:

See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.

Oh my goodness, what a strong warning!

Isn’t it so true, though?  We can say one wrong word out of anger or judgment toward someone and it’s as if a fire begins to rage.  Or someone can say something awful to us because they’ve misunderstood us, or they speak too quickly before they think, and our entire body falls limp under the accusation and blame.

We all know what danger is present if a match is struck and allowed to light even the smallest of an item in a house.  If it isn’t quickly put out, the flame spreads until the whole structure is black, smells of smoke, and everything inside is ruined.

That’s the picture here…with the tongue.

And these verses say our tongues are full of iniquity – prone to sin – and can set an entire body aflame.

But imagine a body with a tongue that is slow to speak, only speaks of truth, and only builds up those to whom it speaks?

Sounds like perfection…doesn’t it?