If anyone does not fall short in speech, he is a perfect man,
able to bridle the whole body also.
It is easy to have pristine speech part of the time. But it is difficult for us to avoid giving voice to destructive words occasionally, not a full blown fire, but small sparks. Yet, in the presence of fuel, small spark are enough to ignite a large fire. This world is full of fuel, and so we often find our words having unintended consequences. Once spoken we cannot call them back or easily mitigate the damage they do.
but no man can tame the tongue.
It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
Humans were made in the image and likeness of God, and given a royal dignity of the stewards in charge of creation. Yet, in a bitter irony, since the fall we have been unable to properly exercise this royal authority over ourselves, even while taming birds, reptiles and sea creatures. James suggested that our control of our speech or lack thereof is the first place where will we manifest either our likeness to God or our fallen state. Our speech is a rudder that can steer the vessel of our lives in one direction or the other. How ought we navigate? We should turn to the word planted in us that is able to save our souls (see James 1:21). God offers us wisdom to know how to apply that word in the individual circumstances of our lives. This includes teaching us the ways of wise speech in accord with his word. Relying on this wisdom we can avoid the harms of rashly spoken words.
If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us,
we also guide their whole bodies.
Control of our speech in not only essential for the sake of others. It is essential for the sake of our own spiritual lives. We cannot become "perfect", that is, mature Christians, with unredeemed speech, even when others aren't looking. By our speech we steer the ship of our hearts. We can steer them to agree with God's word. Or we can steer them to agree with the world. Agreement with the world often results in hopelessness and despair. The world tries to teach us to talk about ourselves as worthless, and our struggles as hopeless. We are all to ready to become the world's prophets, prophesying doom over our own lives and circumstances. Let us listen more closely to our inner monologue to recognize when it is off course so that we can again seek to guide it by heavenly wisdom.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
then from the cloud came a voice,
“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Our speech is meant to be nourished by first listening to the word that is able to save our souls. This word teaches us the brightness of the hope of the promise we have been given. It teaches us how even apparently dire circumstances can be recast according to that promise.
As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
We are not ready to speak until we can use the resurrection to make sense of what we want to say. If we are not all the way to that point yet in our walk with God we can allow the vision of Jesus himself to strengthen us. Even a glimpse of his glory can sustain us during our own dark night. Remembering it we can avoid the temptation to fill the void with our own words as we wait for the definitive word of the resurrection to be more deeply revealed to us.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Lord, reveal your glory to us. Teach us to hope in your resurrection and to speak in accord with that hope.
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