The Fire and Animal Illustrate the Power to Destroy (James 3:5-8)

The Fire and Animal Illustrate the Power to Destroy (James 3:5-8)

A small spark can start a fire, but it can quickly grow into a city-destroying blaze. On October 8, 1871, at 8:30 p.m., a fire started in the O'Leary barn in Chicago. The fire spread, leaving over 100,000 people homeless, destroying 17,500 buildings, and killing 300 people. The city had to pay more than $400 million.

Our words can start fires. "Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.” (Prov. 26:20–21). Some churches have members or leaders who can't control what they say, and such conduct leads to destruction. Let them leave town or be replaced at the office, and a lovely spirit of love and harmony will take over.

The tongue can "heat things up," just like a fire. David wrote, "I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue" (Ps. 39:1, 3). Have you ever gone through that? You definitely have! You can say things you don't mean when you're angry and when your heart is hot. David had a temper, and he needed God's help to keep it under control. Solomon said, "He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit." (Prov. 17:27). “He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.” (Prov. 14:29).

Fire not only starts small and grows, making heat; it also makes things dirty. A friend of mine had a fire in the basement of his house. The upstairs became so filthy due to smoke and fire damage that the family had to vacate while the house underwent renovation. Fiery words can ruin a home, a Sunday school class, or a church. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse that.

Fire hurts and burns, and so do our words. One of the things that made our Lord sad while He was on earth was the way His enemies talked about Him. They called Him a "man gluttonous and a winebibber" (Matt. 11:19) because He was kind enough to accept invitations to dinner from people the Pharisees didn't like. They said he was working with Satan when He did miracles. Even when He was dying on the cross, His enemies could not let Him alone but threw vicious taunts into His face.

Fire spreads, and the more fuel you give it, the faster and farther it will go. The Bible says, "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell." (James 3:6). James is saying that everything in life is connected like a wheel, so we can't stop the damage from spreading. The tongue can hurt or kill someone for the rest of their life. Time does not make up for the wrongs we say. We can admit to our speech sins, but the fire keeps getting worse.

Both fire and our words have the power to destroy as they spread. For every word in Hitler’s book Mein Kampf, 125 lives were lost in World War II. While our words may not initiate wars or demolish cities, they have the power to shatter hearts and tarnish reputations. They can also destroy souls by sending them to hell without Christ. It is very important for us to let our words "be always with grace, seasoned with salt" (Col. 4:6).

The tongue is like a fire and a dangerous animal at the same time. It is restless and can't be controlled (unruly), and it hunts for its prey and then jumps on it and kills it. Some animals are poisonous, and some tongues carry poison. Poison is sneaky because it works slowly and secretly, and then it kills. How many times has a bad person put a little poison into a conversation, hoping it would spread and get to the person they wanted to hurt? As a pastor, I've seen how poisonous words can hurt people, families, classes, and even whole churches. Would you let hungry lions or angry snakes loose in your church on Sunday morning? No way! But unruly tongues get the same results.

James reminds us that we can tame both animals and fire. You get a worker instead of a destroyer when you tame an animal. You gain power when you control fire. Man cannot control the tongue, but God can. Your tongue does not need to be "set on fire of hell" (James 3:6). It can be set on fire from heaven, just like the apostles at Pentecost! If God controls the fire, the tongue can win souls and build the church. Of course, the most important thing is the heart, because "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matt. 12:34). Satan will start the fire if the heart is full of hate. But if the heart is full of love, God will kindle the fire.