Today is October 1st, China’s National Day. The sun has already risen into the sky, and I am still casually lying in bed. A beam of sunlight penetrates through the window of my room and scatters its golden ribbon across my bed. On the ribbon, I can see tiny specks of dust dancing in the air, and I can sense the festive atmosphere all around me. From my comfortable bed I can hear music playing and automobile horns honking. Suddenly, from a distance, a fire alarm pierces the air, and it seems like all my blood is being injected into my heart. As I sit up in bed, I am sobered as the blaring alarm pulls my memory back to the terrible fire twenty years ago.

It was during the afternoon in late autumn in 1992 when the climate was getting drier day by day. There was a hillside at the back of my house, and during that season, leaves were falling off the tree branches, while golden bushes and weeds dressed the hillside with gorgeous autumn clothes. After lunch, my parents went to the farm, leaving me alone to do homework until they returned for dinner. Several hours passed by and I became hungry, but my parents still weren’t back, so I went to the kitchen looking for food. Much to my delight, I found a basket of big red sweet potatoes, which happened to be my favorite food. Then I remembered seeing a television program where tribal swordsmen were roasting their food over a fire in the wilderness. “What a great idea!” I said to myself excitedly. I also thought that up on the hillside, hidden from view of the adults, would be a perfect place for roasting sweet potatoes.

So, I quickly gathered two of them from the basket and ran up the hillside and soon found a perfect spot of open ground. I quickly dug a hole large enough to hold my two sweet potatoes, and then gathered wood, leaves, and dozens of small rocks. I then put the sweet potatoes in the bottom of the hole and placed the rocks against them, just like I saw in the film. Then I piled leaves and wood on top and lit the fire with a match.

With the help of the evening breeze, the fire flamed brightly. The heat from the burning wood was transferred to the rocks, which in turn was transferred to the sweet potatoes, cooking them nicely. The fire was still burning over the sweet potatoes, and I knew that it would take a little more time for the fire to burn down and for the sweet potatoes to finish cooking. As the smell of my roasting sweet potatoes spread across the hillside, I became even more hungry while I waited for the fire to burn down. Knowing that my parents had probably already returned home and had dinner waiting for me, I decided to go home and then return to my fire and retrieve my sweet potatoes for an after-dinner treat.   

Sadly, as I walked toward home, the wind began to blow stronger and the moment I stepped into the house, one of our neighbors screamed loudly “The hill is on fire!” I immediately turned around and saw many small fires burning all over the dry hillside. The trees and weeds were burning crazily; the dark sky was mirrored like daytime; and thick black smoke devoured the hill. I was too scared to move. Immediately, I saw nearly everyone in my village, old and young, men and women, running to help battle the fires. Everyone carried basins and plastic barrels filled with water, and they began to put out the many fires that had begun to burn across the hillside. It was not until late in the evening that all the fires were finally put out. The next morning, when I looked at the hill, the strong feeling of sadness and guilt filled my heart as I witnessed the destruction of the golden clothes that once adorned the hillside. The entire hillside was nothing but scorched trees and bushes. I was too ashamed and embarrassed to go look for my sweet potatoes. 

That day has long passed, but every detail of the fire has been engraved on my soul ever since. It was a fire triggered by my ignorance and carelessness. I should have never started the fire on a hill filled with trees and weeds, especially in the dry autumn, and I should have put my fire out completely before going home. I realize that my fault can never be made up, but I received an impressive lesson from the hillside that went up in flames. I should always be aware of potential dangers in life and proceed cautiously when I am unsure of any situation. And, I must recognize my mistakes and make changes in a timely manner.

Additional Comments – I suppose that we are all aware of the saying, “Don’t play with fire,” and for those of you who love to go camping, we see reminders posted all around the campground reminding us to, “Never leave a fire unattended,” and “Make sure your campfire is completely out before going to bed.” Indeed, my former student learned this lesson the hard way, by causing a terrible fire due to her negligence. And it goes without saying that we have all been negligent in following through with many things in life. We may not have inadvertently started a wildfire, but we have done things (some unintentionally) that caused distress and pain in the lives of others.

My student is not the only one to speak of a fire. In the Bible, James (Jesus’ half-brother and leader in the early church) talks about a raging wildfire, using it as a metaphor to describe the inappropriate use of our tongues. He simply says, “The tongue is a fire” (Js. 3:6). James talks about the fact that even a small bit placed in a horse’s mouth can guide a horse along the right path, and a small rudder on a large ship can direct the ship to its destination (Js. 3:3-4). Then James says, “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. Behold, how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire” (Js. 3:5).

James goes on to say that mankind has been able to tame wild animals, birds, and large sea creatures, but no one can tame the tongue. He calls the tongue “…a restless evil and full of deadly poison” (Js. 3:7-8). Each one of us knows that this is true. One moment we can praise God and in the next moment curse another human being. Both blessing and cursing come from the same mouth. And then James says, “My dear brothers, these things should not be” (Js. 3:9-10).

Interestingly, the root of the problem does not lie with the tongue, but with the heart. Jesus says, “The things that proceed out of the mouth come from inside the heart, and that is what defiles a person” (Mt. 15:18-19). It is out of the heart that comes all manner of evil that affects our thoughts, our actions, and yes, even the words that we speak.

And let’s not forget, only God can change the heart, and only then can our tongue be tamed. The Apostle Paul instructs us, “Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth, but only such a word that will give encouragement for the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear (Eph. 4:29). Only when God changes the heart can we offer “words of grace” to others. Now that’s right where I want to be. I pray that this is your desire as well.