The Backbiting Tongue

When we think of biting something, we think of doing so with our teeth; but backbiting is a work of the tongue. Backbiting is the act of saying something about someone with the intention of harming them personally. In our passage, we learn that backbiting is detestable to the Lord; so much so, that David said the backbiter would not abide in the Lord’s tabernacle. [The words that so flippantly slip from our tongues are often used by the Devil as weapons to wound others.] According to James 3, the tongue kindles a great fire (James 3:5) and is a world of iniquity (James 3:6). The old phrase “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is unscriptural. The Bible says that our tongue is “full of deadly poison” (James 3:8). Backbiting wounds its victims!