Matthew Henry Commentary James 3:1-12

"Be not many [of you] teachers, my brethren, knowing that we shall receive heavier judgment. For in many things we all stumble. If any stumbleth not in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also. Now if we put the horses` bridles into their mouths that they may obey us, we turn about their whole body also. Behold, the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by rough winds, are yet turned about by a very small rudder, whither the impulse of the steersman willeth. So the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how much wood is kindled by how small a fire! And the tongue is a fire: the world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beasts and birds, of creeping things and things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed by mankind. But the tongue can no man tame; [it is] a restless evil, [it is] full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we the Lord and Father; and therewith curse we men, who are made after the likeness of God: out of the same mouth cometh forth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth the fountain send forth from the same opening sweet [water] and bitter? Can a fig tree, my brethren, yield olives, or a vine figs? Neither [can] salt water yield sweet." — James 3:1-12 (ASV)

We are taught to dread an unruly tongue as one of the greatest evils. The affairs of humankind are thrown into confusion by the tongues of people. Every age of the world, and every condition of life, private or public, provides examples of this. Hell plays a greater role in promoting the fire of the tongue than people generally think; and whenever people's tongues are employed in sinful ways, they are set on fire of hell.

No one can tame the tongue without divine grace and assistance. The apostle does not represent it as impossible, but as extremely difficult. Other sins often decay with age, but this one frequently gets worse; we grow more contrary and fretful as natural strength declines, and the days approach in which we have no pleasure. When other sins are tamed and subdued by the infirmities of age, the spirit often grows more tart, as nature is drawn down to the dregs, and the words used become more passionate.

That person's tongue contradicts itself when at one time it pretends to adore God's perfections and to attribute all things to Him, and at another time condemns even good people if they do not use the same words and expressions. True religion does not permit such contradictions: how many sins would be prevented if people would always be consistent! Pious and edifying language is the genuine product of a sanctified heart; and no one who understands Christianity expects to hear curses, lies, boastings, and revilings from a true believer's mouth, any more than they look for the fruit of one tree from another.

But facts prove that more of those who profess faith succeed in bridling their senses and appetites than in properly restraining their tongues. Therefore, depending on divine grace, let us be careful to bless and not curse; and let us aim to be consistent in our words and actions.