Week 24 of 52
Speech and the Tongue
A small member, and one of the most searching tests of a life given to God.
Built on James 3:1-12. James compares the tongue to a bit, a rudder and a spark, then names the contradiction of blessing God and cursing people with the same mouth.
Scripture does not treat speech as a minor matter beside the weightier things of faith. James calls the tongue a small member that boasts great things, and Proverbs says death and life are in its power. What a person says, and how, runs through the whole Bible as evidence of what is actually inside them.
This week reads the tongue's danger honestly, the fire James describes, the account Jesus says will be given for idle words, and also its remedy: a watch set at the door of the lips, speech seasoned with grace, an answer that turns away wrath instead of stirring it up. The aim is not managed politeness but speech that comes from a changed heart.
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Seven days
Each day is its own devotional
Day 1
A Small Fire, a Large Forest
James names the tongue's disproportionate power before he names anything else about it.
James 3:5-6
Day 2
Death and Life in the Tongue
Proverbs states the stakes as plainly as any verse in the Bible.
Proverbs 18:21
Day 3
Speech That Builds
Paul gives a positive standard, not only a warning.
Ephesians 4:29
Day 4
A Watch at the Door
David asks for a guard he cannot post himself.
Psalm 141:3
Day 5
Every Idle Word
Jesus says an account will be given for careless speech.
Matthew 12:36-37
Day 6
The Answer That Turns Away Wrath
Proverbs shows how one kind of reply changes the whole outcome.
Proverbs 15:1
Day 7
Speech Seasoned with Salt
Paul's final word on the tongue this week is about how to answer, not only what to avoid.
Colossians 4:6