James is confident that the tongue cannot be tamed. It cannot be controlled. Once your mouth is opened, the restless
poison of the tongue directs your entire body. And as I said yesterday, I believe there is no part of the body that can lead you into sin more quickly than the tongue.
Jesus says in Matthew
5:29-30, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it
away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole
body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it
off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than
for your whole body to go into hell.”
So
what should we do with a tongue that, according to James, “corrupts the whole
person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by
hell”? Well, certainly I don’t expect anyone to cut out their own
tongue. But it is fair to ask that we hold it.
“Therefore God forbids you to speak evil about another even
though, to your certain knowledge, he is guilty. All the more urgent is the
prohibition if you are not sure but have it only from hearsay. But you say: “Why
shouldn’t I speak if it is the truth?” I reply: “Why don’t you bring it
before the regular judge?” “Oh, I cannot prove it publicly; I might be called
a liar and sent away in disgrace.” Ah, now do you smell the roast? If you do
not trust yourself to make your charges before the proper authorities, then
hold your tongue. Keep your knowledge to yourself and do not give it out to
others. . . . No man should be deprived of his honor and good name unless these
have first been taken away from him publicly.”—Martin Luther
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