Driving to Cape Town Harbour, I marvelled at my bakkie’s steering wheel. With power steering, you just touch it with your little finger and turn it comfortably. As you turn, the whole heavy bakkie follows your lead.

We stop this side of the dry dock. That’s where they park the boats that need to be worked on, and then they pump out the water so that they can do repairs. I was amazed to see how small the rudder was. Where the rudder goes, the ship turns as well.

A man is standing there with a blow torch in his hand. It looks like he must cut a hole in the thick steel. He takes a piece of flint, makes a small spark, and boom, a thick blue flame pours out, ready to eat through the steel.

A steering wheel, rudder and spark plug are all very small, but they control big things. They are small but well-trained. Their impact is so much bigger than themselves.

The tongue is also like that. The tongue is small and can cause a big fire. It can tear apart great, deep relationships. Yes, it’s small but can run amok if it’s not trained.

³A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds.

⁵A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!

One cannot believe how much destruction a tongue can wreak. Yes, with your tongue you can kill other people. People go and hide because they can’t stand the pain caused by the tongue anymore.

I always say that if emotions are mixed with communication, it becomes a conflict. In the same way, if we combine our emotions with our tongue, the consequences are not always so pleasant and lead to people around us being hurt.

We really need to be aware of what our tongue can do. It is small, but its impact and the devastation it causes can be huge. For sure, it is small, and if it isn’t trained, it causes damage.

Each of us is responsible for making sure that our tongue is trained to stay controlled in every situation. Then we can bring peace to discord, cast out fear, yes, even save a life.

Scripture
James 3:1-12

Reflection
Is your tongue under control everywhere?
Where should you practice?
Where can your tongue do good?

Prayer
Father, I believe You call each of us to make a positive difference with our tongue too. Help us to learn to get our tongues under control and also make such a difference in the world. In Jesus’ Name.