If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless.
Truth to Learn
Controlling what we say and how we say it is a clear indication of the degree to which we are submitted to the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Behind the Words
The word translated “thinks” is dokeō. According to The Complete Word Study Dictionary, this word, “expresses the subjective mental estimate or opinion formed by man concerning a matter.” So, this could be translated as “think, imagine, or consider.”
“Religious” is translated from thrēskos, which refers to the ceremonial service of religion. It expresses the external actions of religion whereas the Greek word eusebeia refers to the inward piety of the soul.
The word translated “bridle” is the Greek word chalinagōgeō, which is a compound word made up of chalinos, meaning “a bridle” and agō, which is a verb meaning “to lead or direct.” Hence, this word refers to restraining or controlling something (the tongue).
Finally, “useless” is translated from the Greek word mataios, which means “something which has no purpose” like chasing one’s own shadow.
Meaning Explained
Many of us have heard the saying “religion is man doing what he can to try to earn God’s pleasure.” Christianity, on the other hand, is believing that God loves us enough to have sent His own Son to die on the cross as payment for our sins. Religious activities without faith in Christ are worthless. But, religious activities that spring from faith can be evidence that we have a relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Each of us does things that are religious: we go to church, we read our Bible, we pray, and we do good things for others. As a result, we believe ourselves to be fairly religious. James is cautioning us, however, that if we think of ourselves as being religious and don’t have control of our tongue, then we are deluding ourselves and our religion is worthless and meaningless.
But what does he mean to “bridle the tongue?” Literally, it means to have restraining control of our language, the things that we say. The image here is of a man putting a bridle in his own mouth to have control over his tongue. A person’s ability to bridle his tongue is a reference back to verse 19 where James said:
Know this, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger
If we cannot control our tongue then we are not slow to speak and our witness for Christ as demonstrated through our actions of faith are without purpose or effect.
Application
The things we say and the way we say them are clear evidence of our own submission to and obedience to Christ. If we can control our speech, we are well on our way to being Christ-like.
How is your tongue, is it under control, or do you need to fit yourself with a tongue bridle?
Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved