Saturday 2021.09.11
Shabbat Shalom. Today is the seventh day of the Biblical Week. Let us keep the Fourth Commandment, to remember the Sabbath and to rest from all our work until sunset this evening.
In my NT reading this morning, I finished the remaining three chapters of the Epistle General of James. Chapter 3 tells us of the danger of not guarding our tongue, a small part of our body that "makes great boasts" (3:5), that corrupts our body and sets our life on fire (3:6). No wonder James wrote two chapters earlier in 1:26 that people who think they are religious but fail to keep a tight reign on their tongues deceive themselve.
James 1:26 NIV
Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.
James 3:3 - 6 NIV
3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
