We All Blow It Aug 15 2012

"For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well." - James 3:2

James is saying, “Look. The only person who never blows it when it comes to saying something wrong is the person who is perfect.” Well, there has only been one of those. Jesus. That means all of us are going to blow it when it comes to saying things we deeply regret.

There’s probably no animal that is more impressive, more majestic than a thoroughbred horse. It’s no accident that those in the automobile business have chosen to boast about the power of their engines by how much horsepower they have. And yet, even a little child that knows how to use a bridle to control the bit in that horse’s mouth, by putting pressure on the tongue, that little child can control that mighty animal. They can turn it to the left. They can turn it to the right. They can cause it to stop. What a mighty description of how powerful is the tongue on influencing every other thing that we do with our bodies.

The tongue is like the rudder on a great and mighty steam ship or a cruise ship or an ocean liner. The captain knows whichever way he turns the rudder, the ship is going to go there. That little bitty rudder in that enormous ship controls the direction that it goes. That’s a lot of power!

Remember Hitler and how the power of his words led the German people into incredible acts of evil? Then think about a man in Great Britain. It was the power of Winston Churchill’s tongue that gave courage to the British people to never give up in defeating Nazi Germany, even though the odds were against them.

So, we’re reminded of how powerful is that little organ in our body. It can be used for good and it can be used for bad. Let's always try to use it for good, with God's help.