How many of you know that a Shrew is a small mouse like mammal with a long pointed snout and tiny eyes? How many of you relate the word Shrew with a bad-tempered or aggressively assertive woman? Now, that is a sexist definition if I every heard one! Good ole Shakespeare wrote a whole comedy play called the “The Taming of the Shrew”. Not PC now or maybe even back then. But that is another subject. Let me stay on the word Shrew and specifically the meaning of a small mouse like mammal. If we stick to just this definition, the word most likely would stay as a boring definition. But now the word was expanded way back in 1590 or so by Shakespeare to have a totally different meaning. Replace the word Shrew with Tongue. “Taming of the Tongue” may be a great play if we can find a play write to take on the project.
Like Shrew, Tongue has a very simple definition that is boring unless you are a doctor of the tongue. The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth that manipulates food and is used in the act of swallowing. Now, that is about as exciting as a small mouse like mammal! What is the point? Like shrew was used to stereotype one gender, tongue is used like a flame of fire. How did that happen?
James 3:1 tells us that many of us should not consider being a teacher because may judge more strictly. This is a challenge as I have been a teacher and a little bit of knowledge can go to our heads to make us a bit condescending to who may be on the learning curve. Being a teacher is an admirable profession, but like most professions, empathy for our audience is needed. Empathy is a small thing to possess, but without it, I believe we are like a ship without a rudder. A ship would soon be lost without the rudder. (James 3:4-5) But what about that tongue? Is it just a small organ used to facilitate the digestive system in our bodies. According to James 3:6, the tongue is a small flame of fire set on fire by the flames of hell. Verse 7 continues to advise us the we can tame all manner of creatures but not the tongue. Wow! The tongue is only an organ so how can it be so unruly? Do we shower blessing or cursing? Maybe, the answer is what is in our hearts.
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