Forest Fires

Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. – James 3v5-6

The news the last week or so has been full of images of great forest fires in Australia. As the fires raged across the land they killed hundreds of people and wiped out vast numbers of homes and property. Sadly we see this kind of story on a regular basis. Many times these fires are started by an arsonist with a simple little match. One little match lit by one little spark on the pack of matches has almost unimaginable destructive abilities.

Here is the picture James uses to describe the destructive power of the tongue. The tongue is a little member, just a small body part. If it is not controlled it will defile the whole body and from there is spreads out and destroys everything around. The source of this fire is hell itself.

I have been around a little while now. I have seen the destructive power of the tongue. There is no greater danger to the church than the unchecked tongue. One careless word can destroy a relationship, a home, or a church.

Before we speak that one word may we remember those images of the great forest fires and realise the damage that we are about to cause. May we remember the source of those words. May we, by the grace of God, hold those words in check. We can apologise, we can try to make it right, we may even be able to do some damage control, but we can’t ever retract those words.