Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. James 3:1-12 (New International Version, NIV)

Today we continue our conversation about how we have the God-given ability to control our bodies by controlling our tongues. Left unchecked, the tongue is a fierce thing and can cause massive troubles, but when we submit it to God, He can help us to control it and thus control our bodies and lives.

James talks about using small things to tame wild and large things. He mentions a bit controlling a horse and a rudder controlling a ship. In the same way, a small part of the body, namely the tongue, controls our bodies and lives. The tongue can be a weapon for evil, or it can be a tool for good, depending on who is given use of it. As believers, we have the ability, and the responsibility, to give our tongues over to God.

Don’t let your body tell you what it is going to do. Instead, tell your body what you will allow it to do. Use the authority Christ has purchased for you to tell it to pray, study the Word, seek God, give to others, etc. Tell it to be healed and whole. Tell it to line up with God’s will. Don’t let your body run your life or lead you to do things you shouldn’t do. You don’t have to let it dictate your actions. You can tell it to go in the direction God wants it to go. Speak to it in the name of Jesus and make it obey.

God alone can help you control your tongue. By spending time with God and in His Word, our thoughts are filled with the thoughts of God. Our thoughts control our words, so as we acquire the thoughts of God, it changes what we say, which, in turn, changes what we do. We control our thoughts to control our tongues to control our bodies to control our lives.

You are the ruler of your body. You take care of it properly by speaking God’s Word to it and over it. Thus, your spirit, under the guidance and rulership of the Holy Spirit, will tell your body to line up and do what God wants. As we learn to yield our tongues to God to make our bodies line up, all aspects of our lives can line up with God’s Word.