James 3:6 KJV
[6] “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”
The ancient Greeks considered fire to be one of the major elements in the universe. They placed it alongside water, earth, and air. You can feel and smell fire just like you can feel water, earth, and air. Fire can be extremely helpful to a man if it is used correctly. It can provide him with light and heat. Fire gives us the ability to cook food, forge metal tools, form pottery, harden bricks, and drive power plants.
Fire also kills more people every year than any other force of nature. Fire can become a destructive weapon with almost unlimited power. Just one flame can spread to destroy an entire forest. A small spark on the side of the road can cause vast destruction over hundreds of acres. Whether the problem is accidental or intentional, the results are still the same. Complete and devastating destruction that many times cannot be restored or replaced.
James tells us the tongue is a fire! It is not just any fire, but it can be the very fire of hell. He opens and closes this verse with these two truths. Our tongue can be helpful and harmful. It can ignite a flame that could bring total devastation, even resulting in the loss of life. Think about the lives, homes, and churches that have been ruined or destroyed because someone had a fiery tongue. James said it possesses a world of iniquity. There is no end to how much we can sin with our tongue. If the mind can think it, the tongue can say it.
We must be careful that we don’t allow our tongues to ignite fires that destroy the lives of those around us. We must guard our tongues and not let them be a tool for Satan to use. Hell has enough weapons without our tongues being one of them.