I am seeing calamity in relationships all around me, and the root of the problem is a sharp tongue. James likens the tongue to the rudder of a large ship. "Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires." (James 3:4 NKJ)
In my spirit I see large ships in troubled water, sinking or listing to one side. The storms of life are all around them, but the rudders are not in order and the ships are out of control. This is a serious picture. Oceans are large and the waters are deep, so the stakes are high. The enemy is working to stir up strife, and a "rudder" (tongue) not submitted to Jesus can cause shipwreck. We truly need Jesus to pilot our lives.
This is a very destructive move of the enemy. He is working to destroy marriages, relationships, long-term friendships, parent-child relationships, balance in the workplace... anything he can do to isolate and separate people because he knows they are stronger when they stand together. This is a time when we need to draw close together in the Spirit, that we might stand strong in the days to come.
A tongue can be an instrument of great healing when submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ, but a sharp tongue will poke holes in the hull of a "boat" and cause it to sink. We should not be deceived in this. "No man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." (James 3:8) We must be fully dependent on Jesus to overcome this unruly member within us.
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God."
James 1:19 NKJ
© 2009 Arlene Schwartzkopf