This study is from an on going online Daily Bible Study at:
DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
James 3:5-6
5 Even [kai] so [houto] the tongue [glossa] is [esti] a little [mikros] member [melos], and [kai] boasteth great things [megalaucheo]. Behold [idou], how great [helikos] a matter [hule] a little [oligos] fire [pur] kindleth [anapto]!
6 And [kai] the tongue [glossa] is a fire [pur], a world [kosmos] of iniquity [adikia]: so [houto] is [kathistemi] the tongue [glossa] among [en] our [hemon] members [melos], that it defileth [spiloo] the whole [holos] body [soma], and [kai] setteth on fire [phlogizo] the course [trochos] of nature [genesis]; and [kai] it is set on fire [phlogizo] of [hupo] hell [geenna]. KJV-Interlinear
5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. Behold, how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. NASB
As are the bit or the rudder, so too the tongue is a small tool, which has tremendous power.
The tongue is the means, as illustrated by these examples, of communicating ideas, thoughts, beliefs, which, when they deviate from truth, can cause great evils in the world.
How many people have been misled by eloquent speeches, by commanding tyrants, by smooth sales men, by approbation driven politicians or celebrities? How many people in the world have been misled by religious leaders, by speeches of hate, by cute or isolated gossips?
When the forest is dry, as the spiritual lives of the masses are when they lack spiritual resources, then it takes only a little spark to set the entire forest on fire, burning to a crisp, everyone.
In politics, candidates speak in ambiguous terms - change, promise, new things, old ways, and they let the hearers make their own interpretations as to what is meant. Without saying anything, they collect followers who are convinced that their candidate is going to give each of them what they want.
This is true in politics, in religions, is social circles all over the world. And all it takes is a population that lacks the spiritual resources to distinguish between those who are duping them and those who are trying to lead legitimately. Selfish concerns replace principles of truth.
Any deviation from truth, is tantamount to an embracing of evil. And the fires of hell are here represented as the course of nature, or the continual turning of the wheels of evil set in motion, by the tongue.
Unless the tongue is stopped, then the motion of evil accelerates and cannot be stopped easily.
The tongue represents the ideas, the speeches, the beliefs, the attitudes, that people have in life. And when truth is cancelled out, then a people will chase their own destiny right over the cliff, all the while cheering as they go over. And then it is too late, and many suffer as a result of economic problems, crime problems, war problems, social problems and so forth.
