By Todd Barrier  

Imagine some soldiers are facing an onslaught of enemy soldiers.  

Their general arrives, and they are relieved. They ask him if he brought the “big guns” to win the battle. He answers, “I’ve got your weapon.”  

He hands them a match.  

A match! Seems ridiculous, right?  

Sometimes in a fight, the smallest of things can ignite a fire worthy of victory or defeat.  

One of the wildfires in California a couple of years back was found to have been started by a small child playing with one match. One match started a fire that burned thousands of acres of land and destroyed many businesses and homes. One little match caused all of that destruction.  

The match burned out quickly, but the fire that it started burned for weeks.  

The Bible tells us about something we have that is small but can destroy us as well.  

In James 3:5-8 the Bible says, “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!  

“And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire by hell.  

“For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” 

The way we say things, and the things we say, can cause much harm. Our tongues, though small, have the ability to teach God’s Word and help save someone for eternity but also can turn someone away from God and lead to an eternal separation.  

As children of God, we must realize the power of our words and that we must be careful in what we say. 

In our youth we always heard, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” Unfortunately, that’s just not true, according to the Bible.  

Our words can burn like a destructive wildfire if we aren’t careful.  

How are you using your voice for God?