James 3:8-10 (NASBStr)
But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.
James was a disciple and, of course, one of the pillars of the early church. James was there when Peter would burst out, before the Messiah, foolish and bold statements, without substance or stability. James was there when Paul stood up to Peter at one of the first church "annual" meetings. James must have heard about the women at the church of Ephesus that Paul warned Timothy about. James certainly knew about how believers were taking other believers to court in Corinth ... without the internet, bad news still travels fast. James had first hand knowledge of the power of the tongue. He saw how some believers used it to preach the word (Paul, John, Peter). But, he saw how some used it to gain personal power and/or profit and forsake The Lord (Demes, Diotrephes). In the above passage James is finishing his treatise on the tongue. He has already pointed out that in regard to size it is the smallest but most destructive of instruments. He has pointed out how the element of human nature is set aflame due to the rash remarks of the tongue. Above, he begins to draw the conclusions he wants us to know. The first is stated boldly: We can't, with the same tongue, bless God and curse man (our fellow believers in context) who was made in the imagine of God. God has made man and for us to curse man (speak ill of him, or attempt to destroy his reputation with our tongue) we dishonor God. James plainly states: These things ought not to be. The tongue, according to Solomon, is simply a connection to the heart. So, when we say bad things about God's people we simply reveal the contents of the heart. When we speak badly about people we reveal more about us than we do about them.
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