James 3:5-8

WILD AND UNCONTROLLED

Text 3:5b-8

5b.

Behold, how much wood is kindled by how small a fire!

6.

And the tongue is a fire: the world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by hell.

7.

For every kind of beasts and birds, of creeping things and things in the sea, is tamed and hath been tamed by mankind.

8. But the tongue can no man tame; it is a restless evil, it is full of deadly poison.

Queries

202.

Note how the small flame has its destructive power because of its ability to grow. It could not grow without someone to feed it.

203.

Why is the tongue called a fire? (It obviously is not a fire.)

204.

How inclusive is the expression world of iniquity?

205.

Just how difficult would it be to undo the human harm done by destructive criticism of another?

206.

Would there ever be a justification for destructive criticism (as opposed to constructive criticism?)

207.

What is the apparent contrast between James 3:6 a and 1 Timothy 6:10?

208.

Is the tongue by nature a world of iniquity among our members, or is it so only because we make it to be so? (i.e. is it poisonous by nature like a snake, or only when we choose to make it so?)

209.

If we make the tongue poisonoushow then is it more dangerous than the other members of the body?

210.

What thoughts does the expression wheel of nature bring to your mind?

211.

The hell of James 3:6 means what? (Look up Gehenna in a good Bible dictionary: see also Matthew 5:22; Matthew 5:29-30; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 18:9; Matthew 23:15; Matthew 23:33; Mark 9:43; Mark 9:45; Mark 9:47; Luke 1:25).

212.

If you could think of a kind of animal that cannot be tamed (can you?), would it nullify this Scripture?

213.

Compare this Scripture with Mark 5:4 the only other use of this word tamed.

214.

What is the marginal reading in your Bible of mankind?

215.

How can James 3:7 be true when some sea creatures are just now being discovered?

216.

Compare James 3:7 with Genesis 1:26. Does Romans 3:7 show an evolution in the control and ability of man over man's ability in Genesis 1:26?

217.

Does James actually indicate that every wild animal can be tamedor is tamed by man? (read carefully).

218.

If the tongue cannot be tamed, why give us this admonition about taming it?

219.

There apparently is a possibility of having control over one's own tongue. Does the part that no man can tame it eliminate the possibility that I can wilfully control my own tongue?

220.

What of divine help on this matter of tongue control?

221.

Between James 3:2; James 3:12 there are eight illustrations used concerning the tongue. See if you can list them all!

222.

In what way is a tongue like a wild beast?. unlike a wild beast?

223.

Why refer to the restless nature of the evil?

Paraphrases

A. 5b.

Think now how a single match can start a huge forest fire.

6.

And the tongue is made to be just as potent! This tiny member contains the capacity to ignite the world with sin; and begins by spoiling the whole body even to setting in motion the cycle of birth by which all kinds of related destructions are brought forth. Its flame is unleashed by Gehenna itself.

7.

Man has been able to train and control every type of creature, other than himself, including those that swim, crawl, fly and walk.

8.

But another man's tongue can no man tame. It is tireless in its activity and is an inexhaustible source of death-dealing wickedness.

B.*5b.

A great forest can be set on fire by one tiny spark.

6.

And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness and poisons every part of the body. And the tongue is set on fire by hell itself, and can turn our whole lives into a blazing flame of destruction and disaster.

7.

Men have trained, or can train, every kind of animal or bird that lives and every kind of snake and fish,

8.

But no human being can tame the tongue. It is always ready to pour out its deadly poison.

Summary

This little tongue can set all nature on fire of hell, and when unleashed is beyond all mankind's ability to tame.

Comments

What size fire kindles what size forest? The flame in a tiny match does not possess the heat and destructive force to consume a forest, but it can give birth to such a destructive force! Little forces are sometime triggers for tremendous destructive powers. A single push on a button can set off an atomic bomb!
However, not every button sets off atomic bombs. They must be so constructed and connected to have such a potential. Likewise the tongue is created with connections to our minds and to the ears of others. Thus it is so constructed that it can transfer concepts from one mind to another, and can set off processes of thought and imaginations in all those who hear. For its tasks of communication, praise, and witnessing it is so constructed. Thus the testimony of God is spread abroad. Men hear of salvation wrought by the blood of Christ and sing praises unto His name; thus hearts are warmed and filled with the Spirit of God.

The small match that has the potential of igniting a heating stove and warming the occupants also has the potential of igniting the house and consuming the occupants. So the tongue which has the capacity of warming men's hearts with the Spirit of God may work havoc and destruction with the spirit of the devil. With fire, given by God for a blessing, comes also the responsibility for its proper use. With the tongue, given by God for a blessing, comes also the same responsibility.
The world of iniquity among our members, though evidently not the sum total of all wickedness, does have that appearance. What sin among man does not engage the tongue? Does not the adulterer and the fornicator at first solicit and woo with the tongue? Does not the murderer usually lie and deceive with the tongue? Is not division and strife among the members of the body of Christ all but impossible without the power of the tongue?
Yes, the tongue's engagement in sin might also lead us to believe that it is the sum total of all sin. Yet the tongue has no guilt within itself. It is just a tool, an instrument for our use that has the capacity to reveal the spirit of the inner man. Among all the other instruments of our bodies available to the inner man, there is not one with the potency of the tongue. The wicked capacity of the tongue is so great we have the very expressive hyperbole that the tongue is a world of iniquity. Every evil feeling, every sinful thought, as well as every sinful act, escapes the world of abstract subjective privacy to become an objective reality visible to all others through the tongue. Even as the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, so the tongue gives power and concrete reality to every kind of sin in the universe.
But there is more to the tongue's contamination than this. The pollution is not a temporary phenomenon once done and forgotten, but rather sets off an entire process of living venom that appears to feed itself. The consuming fire that finds its own kindling as it proceeds is a very apt illustration. The -wheel of nature-' (cyle of birth) is set in motion so that all kinds of related destructions seem to spring forth from the flame once started. A bit of choice gossip, once started, picks up momentum and obtains added fuel with each retelling. The temptation to add poison to poison seems irresistible, and the entire cycle of giving birth to sin is ignited by a single spark.
Also the wheel of nature may refer to the entire cycle of human life, from birth to death. From the moment of speech until death, lies, tale-bearing, and destruction are strewed in the wake of the tongue. Responsibilities of life may come and go, but it seems that whether a child at home, a teenager in school, a parent with family responsibilities, or a grandmother with advice, the tongue goes on and onceaselessly, tirelessly, and sometimes wickedly to the very end.

The source of the tongue's fire, hell itself, is really the Greek form of the Hebrew Gehenom (or gaienna, Joshua 18:16, Septuagint). Originally Gehenna referred to the valley of Hinnom where the Molech, the fire god, was worshipped. Here the sons of Ahaz were burnt in the fire (2 Chronicles 28:3). The name, however, began to be associated with the place for torment of the wicked after final judgment. Thus Gehenna became the metaphorical name for the flame of hell itself. Here the fire never ceases, but continues through eternity. (Mark 9:47-48; Matthew 25:46; Revelation 14:11). So the tongue being set on fire of hell expresses in a very dramatic sense the unending process of continuing destruction set off by a single careless word. There have been several progressive expressions: From a world of iniquity, to the cycle of birth, and now the fire of hell.