The Biblical writer James addressed the dangers associated with the tongue (that is, associated with our words) in James 1:19-27.

In James 3:1-12, he went further. James began by warning, “Not many of you should become teachers…because…we who teach will be judged more strictly.” James included himself in this, and there were certainly times when he said the wrong thing. James then compared the power of the tongue to the power of a bit in a horse’s mouth or a ship’s rudder. If we take the analogy of the church being the body of Christ, the teacher/preacher can be considered the tongue. As such, the preacher has the power to guide the whole body (like a ship’s rudder or a horse’s bit) but also the power to “corrupt the whole body” (James 3:6). False teachers and false prophets have been a problem throughout history, a corrupting influence on the people of God in the Old Testament and in the church. In the modern era, we can see it in the sordid history of televangelists and morally flawed megachurch pastors (as well as some morally flawed but less prominent pastors). Power of any kind can easily go the head. And yet teachers are still necessary. James himself, in spite of past failures, was continuing to teach through this letter. Teachers are necessary, but teachers need to be warned to teach with humility, fear, and trembling, very aware of the judgement of God.

James also talked of the corrupting power of the tongue generally. He said it is virtually untameable, “a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:7-8). James then suggested that what comes out of the mouth reflects what is inside the person. This reflects Jesus’ teaching. Jesus said, “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them” (Matthew 15:11), adding that what comes out of the mouth originates in the evil in people’s hearts (Matthew 15:18-19). Jesus also said, “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit…A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:43-45). Jesus also said, “Watch out for false prophets.…By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit” (Matthew 7:15-20). James used a very similar image: “Can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?” (James 3:11).

This sounds as if the situation is hopeless—the tongue is untameable. But what James actually said is, “No human being can tame the tongue” (James 3:8). What is impossible for human beings is possible with God (Matthew 19:26). In Mark 13:11 and Luke 12:12, Jesus told His followers that they should not worry about what to speak when they were brought to trial because “the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” Jesus also promised in Acts 1:8: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses.” We cannot tame the tongue, but if God has entered our lives, if His Holy Spirit is redeeming and controlling us, then He can tame the tongue.