The lion tamer is always a feature performer at the circus. The mighty beast is able to devour the tamer in a heartbeat, yet is a pussy cat in his hands. The whip cracks, and the big cat jumps through a fiery hoop, defying all logic. After all, the lion is the king of the jungle.
James 3:7 states that there is no beast upon this world that has not been tamed by mankind. The massive elephant slaves in the forests, moving huge logs for its owners. The freest of creatures, the dolphin, works for the military, trained to carry underwater gear where men hardly dare to venture.
Even hunting birds, free to fly away and never return, reappear again and again, trained to alight upon our arms.
Yet there is a greater creature, one that we have never managed to tame. It destroys nations and businesses. It brings families to the brink of destruction. It creates financial ruin for the unwary.
This creature is a monster of a beast, and it is one we all wrestle with day to day.
It is our tongue.
James 3:7 tells us that no man can tame his tongue, for it is truly evil and full of deadly poison.
How then can we come before the Lord without spot or wrinkle? If no matter what level of perfection we achieve in our Christian walk, our tongue will continue to plague us with evil, then where is Christ to be found in us?
We must remember that there is one greater than we are. Our salvation is in the cross, for we come to the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. It is the blood of the cross that justifies us, for no man can come to the throne except with the cross of Jesus as his badge and his shield.
There is only one who can tame the mightiest of beasts: Jesus, through the blood he shed on the cross.
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Code: FGO.J.6.13g.vp
Originally published 12-8-13 in Discipleship