James Through African EyesSýnishorn

From an Africa Study Bible Proverbs & Stories Note: Tongue Meat 

Two married women were friends in the same village. One of them had a hard marriage and the other had a good marriage. When the one who had trouble asked her friend what she was doing to make her marriage thrive, she explained that she gave her husband tongue meat. So the unhappy wife bought a cow tongue to prepare for her husband. But many days later, her husband still hadn’t changed. Then the happy wife explained her secret: Marriages are preserved with sweet words.

James 3:1-12 teaches us to control our words. Ask before you speak, “Will this be helpful or hurtful?”

Jesus Christ warned us about the words that we carelessly let out of our mouths (Matthew 12:36). James wants us to speak only helpful words because we are saved by God. Sweet, good words are those that build up others’ souls so they can see God and see how we see God. Our words can either be “tongue meat” or poison. To speak words that offend your fellow people who have been filled with the Holy Spirit is to offend the One who is within them. To do this is to wrong God and the Holy Spirit who lives within those people. Let us follow the book of James: Good and bad speech can’t come from one mouth.

Reflect or Discuss

Reflect on your words today. What has been helpful for building others up? What has been hurtful?

What proverbs and stories from your culture encourage people to use their words carefully?

One way of building people up with your tongue is to help others understand the Bible. What is one of your favorite proverbs or stories? How could you use that in helping others to understand the Bible?