Careless Words Made Careful

10/31/25 Bible Thought (James 3)

Photo by Dawn Casey on Unsplash

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is an old adage that probably all of us have discovered at some point or another is completely untrue.

In James 3, we see an admonition to the believer as regards our speech. First, James offers a warning:

“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (Jas. 3:1).

The reason for this word of caution is because as human beings we struggle to control our tongues.

I can personally attest that as a public speaker I have misspoken on many occasions in subtle, accidental ways.

With enough hours of teaching under my belt, I am positive that I have mixed up Moses and Noah, yet I am not actually confused about who built the boat and who received the commandments. Even more so, I know I have misspoken in daily life and to a much greater degree. This is James’s concern.

He continues, “For we all stumble in many ways” (Jas. 3:2a) however, one area that we seem to all have in common is with our speech (Jas. 3:2b). Whether you are a public speaker or not, everyone has had their words get them in trouble.

The human tongue, the organ of speech, is powerful. James likens it to a bit that steers a horse or a rudder that steers a ship (Jas. 3:3-4). Though one of the smallest parts of the human body it can certainly get us into a lot of trouble.

A whole forest is set ablaze by a small fire (Jas. 3:5-6), James points out, with this, careless words spoken are like lit cigarettes thrown into a forest ripe for disaster.

If Smoky the Bear can be a great deterrent for kids being careless regarding the dangers of forest fires, how much more should the living God be the greatest deterrent for us misusing the privilege of our speech?

We can be guilty of both blessing God and cursing others (Jas. 3:9). Certainly, our praise is darkened when we are guilty of slander, gossip, backbiting, complaining, or any other forms of evil speech.

I have often likened the human tongue and our words to a hammer.

Hammers were created for building. You can build a home or any number of things with a hammer and nails. You can even use a hammer and nails to hang pictures of your family in that home and add beauty to its walls. However, you can likewise use a hammer to destroy. The same hammer that finished a wall found in the wrong hands could be quickly used for its dissolution and in extreme cases has been used for murder.

The tool itself is not evil. In a murderer’s hands it can certainly accomplish evil; but in the carpenter’s hands it can accomplish beauty.

It works similarly for human speech. So, then let us aim to be those who “build up” with our speech (see Eph. 4:29). Both blessing God, and blessing others. That we would have a spring that pours out only fresh water, no matter who is looking for a drink (Jas. 3:11).

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4:29).

While no human being can tame the tongue, the believer in Jesus Christ, filled with His Spirit, has an aid that can help us to get this right.

Let us strive then to have our only fault be misspeaking rather than mistreating. That we, in our humanness, might mix up names or say the wrong word, but never be guilty of speaking evil of others (see Titus 3:2).

How much could we be a light for Christ and even a breath of fresh air to others if we sought to control our tongue and to use the gift of words exclusively for building up?