Our Christmas Fire

I’m sitting in front of this contained and beautiful fireplace as I post this blog today. I was reading this scripture a couple of days ago: “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!” (James 3:5) It refers to the damage that our tongues can cause – words that escape from our tongues that seem so incidental but can cause major damage if they’re not kept in check.

Reading that meaning caused me to remember “a little fire that kindled” in one of our Christmases long ago. We were new homeowners at last after paying a whopping $7,500 for our little fixer-upper home. that we turned into our “love nest”. Our children were ages three and one. My 22-year-old husband loved adding ambiance to the atmosphere with candlelight. This day, with the small, decorative kerosene lantern that he lit earlier, decided to light a nearby candle from the fire of the lantern, tipping it ever so slightly to light the candle. The candle was lit, but some of the kerosene poured out and a fire erupted. He dropped the lantern filled with kerosene and the fire blazed to our carpet. His quick thinking to stamp it out helped, but still, our carpet was scorched. Now we had to find carpet to match the huge spot that was burned to replace that scorched spot.

You can imagine my husband’s angst that he was so “stupid and careless” (his words, not mine). It was such a small lantern, but given the right set-of-circumstances, it sure produced big problems. As I type this, I couldn’t help but think of the recent small campfire that became the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in California history.

It’s tempting to think about how we use our tongues is no big deal. Our words may not appear to do much damage, so we aren’t more careful. We know that “the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10) so keeping guard of our words will certainly keep us from setting our words ablaze.

I pay close attention to my vehicle’s indicators to change the oil, put air in the tires, etc. Keeping an eye on the indicators that could set us up for a “fire” from our tongues is critically important in preventing a “forest fire”. Trust me. This is the voice (rather, tongue) of experience sharing this. Keeping a fire extinguisher on hand is a good idea, but never having to use it is even better.

I’m reminded today that our words have power. The power to heal and the power to hurt. Words are no small thing. A Sunday School song we sang as kids was “Be careful little mouth what you say!” May we all be careful with our words — choosing blessing over cursing; helping over hurting; waiting rather than rushing the wrong words out into the world.

At this beautiful time of the year, there may be situations that create opportunities to “let ‘er rip” and get careless with our words even in innocent conversations and situations. May our words bring “Joy to the World” as the light of Christ shines in AND out of us!

Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”