James part 6
Sticks & Stones May Break My Bones, But Words Can Send People to Hell
My #2 son officially hit the paper airplane phase last year. He has been fascinated by them for a long time, but it was in the last year or so that he began making his own. And with his discovery of YouTube Kids, he has leveled up his airplane skills. His favorites are the trick planes. In one of our engineering lessons, I showed him how he can make flaps on the wings to force the plane into different directions. Flaps are probably the most fascinating part of the plane. These relatively little pieces of wing move up or down in order to slow the plane, lift the plane, or send it into a barrel roll. And if you practice enough, you can fold a plane in such a way that once thrown, it will loop the loop right back to your hand.
It’s just a small change in the wing, but it changes the entire trajectory of the plane.
Today, James is going to show us how one simple change in our life can alter the entire trajectory.
Sticks & Stones | James 3:1-5a
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
James 3:1-5a
This section begins a new thought, but we should not presume chapter 3 is only for teachers just because James starts with this warning. The warning that “not many should become teachers” is linked to his topic at hand: keep your tongue in check.
The illustrations that follow in verses 2-5 bring us to the main principle:
Wisdom and maturity require us to discern when to speak, what to say, and when to be quiet.
Think about the times when you have found yourself in trouble. Now, think about what you said during those times. Was it helpful? Or did your mouth cause more trouble? Many times it is easier to see this with other people, especially younger people. With students I routinely have to tell them, “If you will just be quiet, you will avoid more trouble.” Sometimes I have to tell them to quit doing a particular thing, and they will talk back. The initial misbehavior may be small, but their mouth escalates the situation. These are easy to pick out in others, but the road to maturity and wisdom requires us to look at our own lives and our own reactions.
There is an acronym that gets passed around in classrooms that goes like this:
THINK before you speak.
T - is it True?
H - is it Helpful?
I - is it Inspiring?
N - is it Necessary?
K - is it Kind?
This acronym may seem a bit hokey to some, but it works. And James, I think, would agree with its advice. If our tongue can really steer our whole bodies as James says, then we should be very careful with how we use it.
Sometimes we tend to think of our words as nothing more than fleeting things. The sound goes out of our mouths and disappears into the wind. The problem is that when people hear our words, it affects them deeply.
Think of your favorite teacher—whether a Sunday school teacher or classroom teacher. What makes them your favorite? If you took time to list everything, how much would be related to what they said?
Think of your least favorite teacher. For all the reasons you disliked them, how many have to do with what they said or how they said it?
We have that same effect on the people around us. We are someone’s favorite customer, or least favorite. We are someone’s favorite family member, or not so much.
But the point for James is not “how to win friends and influence people,” it’s about where we are steering ourselves and others. The bridle bit is a very small piece of equipment, but its strength is in its ability to drive the horse—whether a work horse or a war horse. The rudder is a relatively small piece of equipment on a ship. But that little rudder is able to steer the ship towards peace or war, calm or storms.
The reason not many should be teachers is because we all influence someone, and teachers have more influence than others. They guide a generation of students. It is paramount they understand the weight of their words. But, you too, my fellow Christian have influence. There is a sphere of people who look to you for guidance. There are people you come across each day that could use extra encouragement and a bit of Gospel peace in their lives. We bring that through our words.
What we say will drive our lives towards faithfulness or away from faithfulness depending on how we use our words.
Life & Death | James 3:5b-12
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
James 3:5b-12
James condemns the human tongue to such a degree that it makes me wonder, “What did someone say?” Something is amiss in James’ congregation, and we get a hint at in verse 9 and 10. Some are being duplicitous in their speech. They bless God with their words, and then curse those made in God’s image. It is a situation that James says can only be because of how evil the tongue can be.
A small spark is all that is needed to start a forest fire. The tongue is like that small flame that can breed a world of unrighteousness. The myriad of sins that come from our bodies begins with what we say. It is an organ that needs to be tamed, and yet James observes that humans cannot seem to tame it. We have been able to tame wild beasts, birds, reptiles and sea creatures, but people still struggle to keep their tongues in check.
You know one animal I really love is the dog. It’s the ultimate companion. They can be trained to do just about anything. They hunt. They track. They sniff out illegal substances. They sit in your lap. They know when something is wrong even if they can’t articulate what. The link between humans and their dogs is universal. The ironic part is they come down the line from wolves—a not near as friendly cousin. The popular opinion is that humans domesticated some wolves to help with hunting and gathering, but there is actually a strong argument for the other way around. The bold, but friendly, wolves would hang around the human encampments to scavenge for leftovers. Over time the two groups realized the benefits of working together, and the “wolf” became more “dog.” Now, dogs are not just emotional support for First World problems, they continue to support hunters, farmers, a variety of other industries. They are the ultimate human companion.
And yet, there are those who still abuse and misuse our angelic companions. They can be trained to do just as much evil as they can do good. They can be maligned and abused until they become aggressive towards those humans who want to help it. The sad fact is dogs still have a trace of wolf in them. And that trace can be used for evil.
The duality of the dog reflects the duality of the human tongue. There is great power to do good or evil.
Our speech has the power to bring great blessings or great curses depending on how we use it.
It must be tamed if we are to be a blessing to others.
So how can we tame it? Th answer lies in the last verses of our passage today. James asks a peculiar question, but its peculiarity comes from having such an obvious answer. He asks, “Can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs?” The answer is “of course not.” Likewise, he notes a salt pond can not yield fresh water. Now, these observations seem pretty obvious, so I don’t think James is giving us a biology lesson.
James is driving at the same point he has had for the last two and a half chapters.
True faith brings true transformation, both inside and out.
Look back at verse 8. James says no human can tame the tongue. We have a few options for interpretation. Perhaps he is a defeatist lamenting there is no hope for us to bring this cursed organ under control. Or perhaps he is simply exaggerating to reinforce the point that we have to work harder at keeping our speech in check. Or perhaps, and if we consider the statement in the context of his book, this is the correct one, he is reinforcing the truth that a human can’t tame the tongue, but there is a God who can. Part of that superhuman quality we talked about last week is the superhuman ability to keep your tongue in check.
Through the transformation Christ brings, we can keep our tongues in check. We can tame our speech so that we bring blessings to those around us. We can be the salt and light Jesus calls us to be. If we call on Him, we can be saved and be a blessing that brings salvation to those around us.
It all begins with our tongue.
“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him form the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
Romans 10:9-10