James 3: 3-8 tells three parables.
The first metaphor is a chewing ring. Put the chewing ring in the horse's mouth and you can mobilize the horse's whole body. If a horse has no chewing ring, it will be difficult for people to tame it, so the horse will run around and disobey its master. Psalm 32: 9 says, "Don't be like the ignorant mule and horse. You must bridle it, or you can't tame it." This tells us that human nature doesn't like being controlled. I was born with the feeling that the more you care about me, the less I listen. The chewing ring and the bridle mentioned in the Bible are used to restrain horses. If our tongue is governed, restrained and regulated by God, our whole body will obey and our behavior will be on the right path.
Christians should reflect. If there are curses, judgments and resentment after believing in the Lord, it means that your mouth is not obedient to God. Christians should be sanctified, different from the world.
The second metaphor is a huge ship with a small rudder, but it is the rudder that plays a decisive role in the whole ship, and the rudder determines the direction of the ship. The value of a ship lies not in how much cargo it can hold, but in whether it can sail according to its owner's wishes. So do people. It's not how capable you are, but whether you listen to God and obey his arrangement. When you listen to God's arrangement and give full play to all your abilities, you are a person who pleases God. This metaphor has another meaning. The tongue is the smallest among the hundred members, but it can talk big. This tells us that our tongue can influence our own direction and the overall direction. According to the figures in the Old Testament, Miriam was shut out of the camp for seven days because she got leprosy in one sentence. The whole Israeli people stood still, which made God judge her angrily. Miriam had such a big consequence because of one sentence. Therefore, we Christians should reflect on how much we have said about not creating people, not judging people, not spreading disputes, and not saying useless things. We should reflect on it.
The third metaphor is fire. The Bible tells us that the tongue is fire, which lights the wheel of life. The danger of fire lies not in burning things, but in spreading and continuing to burn. So people often say that a single spark can start a prairie fire. Sometimes our weak words can make many people weak. If we say something biased, many people will be biased. Tongue is fire, and it is evil among all human beings. Sin in people's hearts radiates through the tongue, which can pollute the whole body, set the wheel of life on fire and light it from hell.