“And the tongue is a fire,” (James 3:6). James is less than complimentary about the tongue and its fiery tendencies. He warns that if unchecked the tongue can kindle a destructive fire that will bring ruin to everything. Many of us have had the misfortune to witness firsthand just how dangerous and destructive an unchecked wildfire can become. However not all fires are evil. In fact, fires, more than almost anything else, are at the heart of almost all human progress and advancement since the dawn of time. Life could not even exist without the warmth and light provided by the fire of the sun. And fire is often used as a symbol for the Holy Ghost, testimonies, covenants, and so forth. Even Jesus Christ is described by John with eyes “as a flame of fire” (Revelations 1:14). And just as fires can be good or bad, the fires that we kindle with our tongues can be the defiling poison of hellfire or the refining fire and sanctifying light of Christ. Throughout most of history these tongues of flame were perhaps like little bic lighters, but with the advent of the Internet and social media, our tongues, or in some cases, our typing fingers, can be more like military grade flamethrowers than little lighters. Let's use our tongues both on and offline to spread the fires of a burning testimony of the pure light of Christ, rather than engaging in flame wars and rumor mongering verbal acts of destruction. God gave us tongues of fire for a reason and we are not meant to use them to burn down the world nor are we meant to keep them hidden under a bushel, but we are to spread the fire of the covenant far and wide until it has filled the whole earth with brightness and glory.
