James 3:5 “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!”

Isn’t it surprising how small things can sometimes cause a tremendous amount of trouble? Often the most painful are biting words that spring from a small body part – the tongue. Just one unkind phrase is often enough to flatten a person.

I lived an object lesson in the power of small but destructive things recently. One evening I jumped into my minivan planning to run into town when to my dismay, I found that my left rear tire was down-to-the-ground flat.

Dad brought out the air compressor, but the continuous hissing sound advised us that this tire was not going to be fixed with just a little air. “Great!” I thought, “This is a frustrating inconvenience!”

In the morning Dad pumped the tire again and immediately drove it to a local tire repair shop. I met him there to switch places so he could leave to attend an appointment. I settled down to wait, and after some time the mechanic reported in. He had patched the tire once he removed a metal bracket that had somehow embedded itself in the rubber. A tiny piece of discarded hardware had dictated a good portion of my previous night and early morning.

The mechanic dropped the destructive piece into a cup that held a variety of other strange things he had taken out of tires. All of them were small objects, but they had each succeeded in stopping large vehicles from functioning properly.

Inappropriate words, just like destructive shards of metal, embed themselves into a recipient’s mind and heart. They can disrupt a person’s day, week or even a lifetime depending on the impact of the message. A parent who constantly criticizes may damage his or her child’s sense of self-esteem. This can carry into adulthood. The smallest trigger can bring back the painful words and laughter of a bully. Even what might be considered a trivial “joke” or “tease” can evoke feelings of inadequacy and hopelessness.

Small things can certainly create a lot of trouble, and the tongue is one of the worst. So carefully consider the things you say and the things you take heed to. The wrong message can destroy a gullible listener with even worse results than an inconvenient down-to-the-ground flat tire.