Monday, July 04, 2011

Digging Deeper James 3:10-12 with Commentary

The last few weeks we have been camping out in James 3 and giving thought to our words. The tongue wields a great deal of power not just on those around us but on us ourselves. It works like the rudder on a sailboat steering the course and direction of our attitudes and actions. The words that come from our mouths are a reflection of what resides in our hearts (For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks) Matthew 12:34.

"From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water." James 3:10-12

Commentary
"We are taught to think of the use we make of our tongues in religion and in the service of God, v. 9, 10. How absurd it is that those who use their tongues in prayer and praise should ever use them in cursing, slandering, and the like! That tongue which addresses with reverence the divine Being cannot, without the greatest inconsistency, turn upon fellow-creatures with reviling brawling language. These things ought not so to be; and, if such considerations were always at hand, surely they would not be." [Matthew Henry's Commentary in One Volume by Matthew Henry, pg. 1934-1935]

Blessings,
Diane

Diane Hunt is the Director of Addiction Recovery and Development at America's KESWICK. In addition to her Keswick responsibilities which keep her busy, she loves to read, write and teach, travel and laugh with her grandchildren. Diane has been married to her husband John over 26 years. She has 2 children, 3 grandchildren, 3 step-children, and 7 step-grandchildren.

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