What does James 1:26 mean? (2024)

FAQs

What does James 1:26 mean? ›

James says this man's religion is worthless; meaning that this religion is without a transcendent or useful purpose, aim, or fruit. It is religion that is self-seeking rather than God-seeking. It seeks affirmation from the sight of man rather than affirmation in the sight of God.

ESV If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person 's religion is worthless. NIV Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.

O, dear Father and almighty God, please forgive me. I find myself abusing others through my words, dishonoring You with my words, growing callous toward those who are vulnerable and in need, and letting the ways of the world cloud my heart and taint my character.

We all remember a time when we should have kept a tighter rein on our tongue. James is telling us that if we will learn to listen more and start thinking before we speak, we will experience more success in life. It's inevitable. Then when you do say something, it will matter so much more.

James goes so far as to say anyone who could perfectly control his words would be perfect and in full control of every part of himself. This ability to control the tongue is described in verse 2 as the means to "bridle" our bodies.

1 Peter 3:10 tells us that "whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech." God commands us to keep our tongue from all obscene words, filthy and corrupt communication, lying, swearing, cursing, and any evil speech.

The first is doing good works: visiting orphans and widows in their trouble. The second prong is to become holy or build righteous character in ourselves in cooperation with God. We could also divide it into the practical and the spiritual sides of life.

In the Epistle to the Romans (8:26-27) Saint Paul states: In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

The Spirit is not passive in seeing us from afar not knowing how to pray, but He is a participant with us in our time of need. How? He “intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (v. 26), which can mean that they are beyond words or that they are without words.

By orienting your life toward purity, you should no longer feed impure desires. Abstain from tempting influences, which might involve breaking off relationships, getting rid of unhealthy material, changing jobs, and more. Set limits on your behavior and have an escape plan to avoid indulging in what you know is wrong.

How do you fix a tight tongue? ›

Tongue-tie treatments

If treatment is recommended, a frenotomy is a quick, low-risk procedure to correct tongue-tie. In an office setting, a laser or sterile scissors is used to snip the frenulum free. The healing time is quick, with minimal pain and blood loss. The risks for the procedure are low.

Tongue tie occurs when the frenulum (the band of tissue under the tongue) fails to separate from the tongue before birth. This may be caused by genetics. The band stays connected as the child grows because it's unusually short or thick, creating a tightness to the tongue that limits its mobility.

A tongue under control is evidence of spiritual maturity, and if a believer's tongue is controlled by the Holy Spirit then every other aspect of his life will be under the Spirit's control (v. 2). The tongue is a comparatively small part of the human body but it has great power.

Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

What does that mean? It means that even though we may be talking about “sins of the tongue” what lies behind it is a sinful heart. Behind our gossip, our slander, our critical speech, our insults, and our sarcasm is a sinful heart. The tongue only says what the heart directs it to.

Visiting orphans and widows is so much more than just taking a trip to another country to hand out some food to people you will never see again; visiting orphans and widows means to look after, to take care of, to provide for, with the implication of continuous responsibility.

Among other things, Jesus' followers should keep themselves “from being polluted by the world.” Bible scholar N.T. Wright translates that phrase like this: “prevent the world leaving its dirty smudge on you.” James is referring to the elements of our society which are sinful or ungodly.

Grace alone means that God loves, forgives, and saves us not because of who we are or what we do, but because of the work of Christ. Our best efforts can never be good enough to earn salvation, but God declares us righteous for Christ's sake. We receive that grace through faith alone.

Specifically, James says we need to keep ourselves from being stained or spotted from the world. James terms need some explanation, By being stained, James means committing sinful, wrong behaviors or actions. When Christians participate in any sin, they dirty themselves, they stain their spiritual lives.