James 3:8

"But no one can tame the tongue; it is. restless evil and fully of deadly poison."no one can tame the tongue" -"A literal translation of the Greek word order yields this rendering: "But the tongue no one is able to subdue-of men"…implying that there is one who can control the tongue…No one can subdue man's tongue except God…it does mean that man unaided does not have constant and permanent mastery of his tongue" (Kent p. 122). With God's help, with the Scriptures, we are expected to tame our tongues (James 1:26; James 1:19; Ephesians 4:29; Colossians 3:8; 1 Peter 3:10). The verse is also probably saying, that while the Christian may control his own tongue, it is impossible to control the tongues of men and women at large. "it is. restless evil" -the word "restless" means something which cannot be restrained or controlled. "Restless" is an ideal word to label the activity of the gossip, the skeptic, the false teacher, the slanderer, the blasphemer, the liar and the angry individual. Such individuals cannot just drop an issue, they can't let go, they just have to keep on spreading their poison. "Evil" includes that which injures, is dangerous, destructive and troublesome. James is here talking about. tongue which hasn't been subjected to the will of God. "Like. loose cannon, its danger is increased because one cannot predict where it will next unleash its venom. It can ruin character, break friendships, blacken reputations, and even send people to their graves" (Kent p. 122). The word "evil" reminds us that an uncontrolled tongue does much more than just cause trouble, it also brings sin."full of deadly poison" -lit., bringing death. Romans 3:13 "The poison of asps is under their lips"; Psalms 140:3; Psalms 58:3. Which reminds us that when James is talking about the tongue, he is talking about the individual, from whose heart such poison emerges (Matthew 15:19). Here should be tremendous motivation to get the hate, bitterness, envy, jealousy and every other evil attitude out of our lives. An uncontrolled tongue is the product of. uncontrolled mind and heart. And eventually, such. heart will lash out with the tongue and spread it's poison. James isn't exaggerating! Look at how angry individuals and prejudiced individuals have "poisoned" their own children and others!