When my husband and I first moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, as Friends of Israel field representatives in October 2000, we were bombarded with advertising for the jaw-dropping Las Vegas Strip shows.
One show was the very popular Siegfried and Roy, the longest-running show ever offered on the Boulevard. The two German-American magicians and entertainers, Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn, captivated audiences with a mind-blowing array of eye-dazzling costumes, astonishing illusions, and exotic animals. They were best known for their use of white lions and white tigers, dangerous inborn predators, in their performances.
Why were audiences unafraid to attend a show seated only several feet away from vicious animals without any barriers? Because the lions and tigers were tame, harmless, and completely domesticated. It takes much time, talent, patience, and knowledge to train a wild animal, yet the Bible states that it can and has been done: “For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind” (James 3:7). No matter the size, power, strength, or level of aggressiveness, every creature can be tamed.
The Most Dangerous Creature
What is James’s point in mentioning that the whole spectrum of animals (Genesis 6:19–20) “has been tamed by mankind”? Perhaps because it’s such a sharp contrast from his main thesis concerning the most dangerous, untamable “creature”: “But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8).
The tongue? More dangerous than the kings of the jungle? We feel relatively safe at a zoo, and even animal safaris take protective measures. But we give no thought to casually carrying around with us something far deadlier: our tongues.
The tongue devours, damages, devastates, demolishes, deprives, and dehumanizes.
The tongue devours, damages, devastates, demolishes, deprives, and dehumanizes. It has the ability to destroy us and others, even if it seems innocent. Satan, the very essence of hell, masquerades as “an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), just like the tongue appears harmless. There is nothing more dangerous than something we don’t consider dangerous.
I once took a summer ministry team on an overnight desert campout in the Valley of Fire, 60 miles north of Las Vegas. As we wound down for the night, campers started arranging their sleeping bags around the campfire. Inevitably, one of the girls screamed—a tiny rattlesnake was crawling across her pillow. One of the male leaders quickly picked up the snake by the tail, holding it high for all to see.
“Aw, look, it’s just a baby,” he said. “He’s probably just looking for his mama. He can’t hurt anybody.”
He gave all of the screaming girls a closer view. Several days later, we researched and learned that a baby rattlesnake’s bite is no joke and can kill you if you don’t get proper medical treatment. What you don’t know can hurt you!
Your tongue has eight muscles that control its sounds and movements. It helps you taste food and form words. But no matter how hard you try to control your tongue, you will never have complete power over it.
The Power of the Tongue
James gave us two illustrations to grasp the disproportionate effects of the tongue: (1) A small bit in a horse’s mouth guides the whole horse (James 3:3), and (2) a small rudder guides a large ship even in strong winds (v. 4). Both a horse and a ship are directed by one person—the rider and the pilot, respectively. Likewise, the tongue is a small member of our bodies, but unlike the rider and the pilot, we are unable to stop it or control its course.
It’s no wonder James stated, “The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity” (v. 6). Presumably, he suggested that the tongue contains the sins of the fallen world.
James writes that the tongue “defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell (v. 6). This isn’t some commentator exaggerating. This is the inspired Word of God. The tongue’s influence affects all human existence and cannot be accentuated enough.
As James emphasized, the tongue has great destructive potential (vv. 5–8). We have all used our tongues for destruction. The damage we can inflict with our tongues can be worse and more extensive than a 400-pound white tiger attack.
Untamable by Man
By the way, if you’re planning a trip to Las Vegas and want to see Seigfried and Roy, don’t waste your time looking for tickets. The show tragically ended in 2003 when Mantacore, Roy’s favorite white tiger, suddenly responded to his natural instincts and lunged at Roy’s throat out of fear or confusion during a performance. He clamped his massive jaws around Roy’s neck and dragged him across the stage. Trainers and Seigfried desperately tried to free a bloody Roy from Mantacore’s stranglehold.
The audience was initially unaware that the horrific event was not a part of the act. Some even applauded. Others in the crowd sensed something had gone amiss and sat in stunned silence as they were told the show was over because Roy had been injured. The 400-pound white tiger that “could be tamed” nearly killed his handler and friend of seven years.
Before the story hit the papers, producer Kenneth Feld canceled the 13-year-old show, telling more than 200 cast members to look for other work. Siegfried & Roy, the most popular act in the history of Vegas, ended abruptly.
We can make vows to hold our tongue and create barriers to entrap it, but only the Holy Spirit can tame the tongue.
Ironic, isn’t it? A wild animal that had been tamed created such devastation in seconds, yet we carry something far more dangerous—a small member of our body which no one can tame. The tongue gains its strength from the very depths of hell and can destroy everything in its path like a raging wildfire.
We all need a tongue-tamer, and it’s not us nor any other human being. We can make vows to hold our tongue and create barriers to entrap it, but only the Holy Spirit can tame the tongue. It’s time to enlist His services—or the devastation we inflict may be worse than a white tiger attack.
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