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3:2 It is common habit to 1descend from a higher place [of faith] to a lower (of the senses), especially in conversation. However, if you want to be in perfect charge of your whole person, the best place to begin is to take charge of your tongue. (To reflect the word that confirms your true genesis [Jas 1:18, 19]. The word, 1peripipto, comes from, peri, meaning surrounded + pipto, from petomai, meaning to fly; thus, to descend from a higher place to a lower, to stop flying.)

3:3 With bit and bridle we are able to direct the strong body of a horse; it’s the little bit in the mouth that makes the difference.

3:4 Consider the effect of a small rudder on a large ship, when the seasoned captain skillfully steers that vessel on a straight course contrary to fierce winds and weather.

3:5 As small a member the tongue might be it can make great claims. A little fire can go out of control and consume a large forest.

3:6 A tongue can strike like lightning and turn the harmony of your world into chaos; one little member can stain the whole body. It can disrupt the pattern of your design, taking its spark from the smoldering garbage heaps of 1Gehenna. (1The garbage heap outside Jerusalem, commonly related to hell. Gehenna, is the Latin word; Geenas is the Greek word used for the Hebrew “Valley of Hinnom,” גיא בן הינום which is modern day Wadi er-Rababi. A fiery place for the disposal of waste matter from the city of Jerusalem. The “Valley of Hinnom” lies outside of ancient Jerusalem. Thus to slander someone is to reduce that person to rubbish.)

3:7 From tigers to eagles, cobras to dolphins, humans have succeeded to curb the wild nature of beasts and birds, reptiles and sea creatures.

3:8 Yet no-one can tame a tongue; no-one can restrain the evil in its fatal venom. (The law of works operated by willpower cannot match the effect of the law of perfect liberty. Mirror likeness ignites true freedom to utter that which is precious.)

3:9 We can say beautiful things about God the Father but with the same mouth curse a fellow human made in his mirror likeness. (The point is not what the person did to deserve the insult. The point is that people are image and likeness bearers of God by design. True worship is to touch someone’s life with the same devotion and care you would touch Jesus himself; even if the other person seems a most unlikely candidate.)

3:10 My friends, a blessing and a curse cannot originate from the same source. (Discovering our true source brings true freedom. Jam 1:17,18.)

3:11 Not even a natural fountain produces both bitter and sweet water.

3:12 As impossible as it is for a fig tree to bear olives, and a vine to produce figs, so a fountain cannot yield salt and fresh water from the same source.

3:13 Humility advertises wisdom; it shows in the quality of your conversation and actions. This distinguishes you with the reputation of someone who is acquainted with wisdom and skilled in understanding.

3:14 If there is any hidden agenda, secretly driven by bitter jealousy and contention, you have nothing to be proud of. Your big talk sounds superficial and offers no disguise. (The fountain of your heart always shows.)

3:15 This wisdom does not originate from above, but is clearly reduced to a kind that is earthly, ruled by the senses and dictated to by demons. (Or daimōn; from daiō (to distribute fortunes). The Greeks gave the word daímōn the same meaning as god. What they meant by the word; however, is still a conjecture. They may have related a demon with daemmonas, knowing or being experienced in a thing, or they may have derived the word from daíomai, meaning to assign or award one’s lot in life (diaítētai kai dioikemtai tōn ánthrōpōn), the arbitrators or umpires and governors of men.

They conceived of them as those who ruled and directed human affairs, not as a personality, but primarily as a destructive power. Thus they called the happy or lucky person eudaímōn, one who is favored by this divine power. The adjective, daimónios, was used for one who demonstrated power irrespective of whether it was saving or destructive. The Tragic Poets use daímōn to denote fortune or fate, frequently bad fortune, but also good fortune if the context represented it as such. Thus, daímōn is associated with the idea of a gloomy and sad destiny independent of a person, coming upon and prevailing over them. Consequently, daímōn and túchē, luck, are often combined, and the doctrine of demons developed into signifying either a beneficent or evil power in the lives of people. — Zodhiates Complete Word Study Lexicon.)

3:16 An environment of envy and rivalry is conducive to confusion and disorder and all kinds of worthless pursuits.

3:17 The wisdom that originates from above sets the pace in innocence; it loves peace; it is always appropriate (polite); persuaded about that which is good; filled with compassion; these fruits are pure goodness and 1without discrimination. (From 1anhupokritos, without hypocrisy. See James 1:17.)

3:18 Seed always predicts the harvest. Righteousness inspires the kind deeds of those who embrace peace; these are like seeds sown into fertile soil.

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