fig bearing grape vines

James 3:7-12

The key words here are: tongue, mouth, tame. James makes some contrast between our ability to tame animals and our ability to tame our tongue. He uses several word pictures: the tongue as a poisonous snake, fresh water salt springs, olive bearing fig trees, and fig bearing grape vines. He uses these word pictures to cause the reader to stop short and realize how unnatural it is for our tongues, which have been redeemed by God, to both praise God and curse men.
The tongue in these last two passages is described as a seperate entity that has its own will. Of course, James recognizes that the tongue only speaks according to the will of the person. What he is saying is that just as a tree is known by the fruit that it bears, so a person is known by what they say. This echoes the teaching of Jesus: out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
It woudl be easy to say that this passage means that I need to be careful what I say. There is certainly some truth to that. However, I think that the application goes much deeper. If the tongue only speaks according to my will and if what I say is a result of what is inside, then I need to get the inside cleaned up. From the rest of the Bible, I can see that while I bear the responsibility to "live clean" the only person who can actually make me clean is the Holy Spirit. God, please fill me with the Spirit so that when I speak, I speak words of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. Let the fruit of my mouth reflect your character. Let the words I say reflect the fact that you live in me.

wild fire

James 3:1-6

The keys words in this passage are tongue, fire and the idea of speaking. James uses a couple of word pictures: a horse controlled by a small bit, a ship steered by a rudder, and forest fire started by a spark. He compares all these things to the tongue.
James has two points in this section: first, that those who teach will be judged more strictly. The implied reason is that we are in a position of authourity and are moulding minds and lives by our words and instruction. The second point is that the tongue, while a small part of the body, can change the whole course of our lives. The implied application is that everyone should be very careful what they say because our words can destroy lives (including our own) very quickly.
I can attest to the truth of that - I don't have to think very hard to remember times when my tongue got me into a lot of trouble. James says that if we can control what we say, we will be perfect. I think his point is that if we have the strength to control our tongues, then we have the strength to control every other area of our lives.
His warning to teachers rings true for me. I need to work very hard to make sure that I am giving my best to my students, to make sure that I have researched what I am saying and that it is true and good and right. I must be very careful not to lead others down the wrong path. The responsibility that I have been given is huge and overwhelming.