If you have ever lived in a forested area you are probably familiar with the danger of fires. They are, quite literally, a force of nature. Under the right conditions a wildfire is an overwhelming, unappeasable, consuming event.
Proverbs 30:15–16
The leech has two daughters: Give and Give.
Three things are never satisfied; four never say, “Enough”:
Sheol, the barren womb, the land never satisfied with water, and the fire that never says, “Enough.”
Yesterday, June 30, marked the eighth anniversary of the death of 19 men that were burned over by a wildfire on Yarnell Hill, Arizona. While the numbers of graves dug are quantifiable, the ongoing sense of loss, grief and pain among families, friends and a generation of firefighters is not. The fire’s ignition source was a lightning strike that led to a 300-acre fire, that grew to 2,000 acres, then 8,000 acres and that resulted in the entrapment and death of the Granite Mountain Hotshots.
In light of the power and potential consequences of forest fires, consider James 3:5–10:
So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
Few things start forest fires with greater speed than a lightning strike. Perhaps the pace of that damage can only be rivaled by that done by an angry or unkind word hastily spoken. James reminds us “these things ought not to be so.” We should show as much care with our words as we do with a burning match over a pile of dried pine needles. The stakes are too high!
Matthew 12:34–37
…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Our words are very powerful. They can be used to praise God, to provide a defense for the faith, to witness to others, to extend forgiveness and to encourage those that are hurting. The same mouth produces words that are insensitive, condescending and spiteful. One day we will give an answer for every one of them—every adjective, adverb and preposition.
Let’s use the power of words for God’s glory! Your mother taught you that if you have nothing good to say, say nothing at all, but God says it even better. “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” (Ephesians 4:29). May God help us to use to our words for building up and dispensing grace and not for starting fires.