James 3:3

Illustrations

James 3:3 "Now if we put the bits into the horses' mouths so that they may obey us, we direct their entire body as well"."bits into the horses' mouths" -"In both illustrations the analogy is between the small size of the controlling device and the much larger entity that it controls…Although the horse was well known to James' readers, it was not an animal possessed by the average man…The average reader of James would not have thought of. humble plow-horse but. prancing war-horse, vigorous and high-spirited. This most spirited of beasts, far larger than. man and with. will of its own, could nevertheless be controlled through the use of. bit and bridle" (Kent pp. 117-118)."we direct their entire body as well" -The whole body of this powerful and spirited animal can be directed by. very small device. The illustration, far from being depressing points out: 1. We can control what we say, this isn't an impossible task, but it does take maturity!. cannot control my tongue and remain spiritually immature at the same time. 2. Controlling what we say and how we say it can eliminate. good number of future problems. Trying to live the Christian life or trying to convince others that they should investigate Christianity is going to be to no avail as long as we manifest lack of control in our speech. Bridling the tongue is. concept which is also found in the O.T. (Psalms 39:1).