The Untamed Tongue, James 3:1-12
Introduction
When I was a young Marine Sergeant, stationed in Yuma Arizona, my commanding officer was a Warrant officer who stood about 6ft 4 inches and weighed just shy of three hundred pounds of mostly muscle. At the time I had just started back to college and I was in my first year of undergraduate course work. I was taking an introductory business class as part of my general education requirements. One day I was telling Warrant Officer Cox about what I had been learning in my college classes.
I was telling him about the communication cycles I had been learning about. I was telling him about what causes communication to break down in the workplace and different strategies to counteract the breakdown of communication and how to foster a positive atmosphere of communication.
I told him that I wanted to hold some training on communication for the troops the next training day that we had scheduled. He pretended as though he was interested and said that would be a good idea… and after a while of my excited ramblings he said, “I took a class like once… have you ever heard about the brick method?” I very seriously said that I had not and then asked, “What is the brick method?” To which he replied… “It’s simple, when somebody doesn’t do what I tell them, I hit them upside the head with a brick!”
Transition
This morning I want to talk to you about the untamed tongue. Very often we find ourselves resorting to the brick method in our communication with others. Today we will explore the biblical motif of the tongue; of our words.
Words contain great power. In fact, a recent scientific discovery which suggests that at the very most foundational subatomic level all matter is composed of vibrations; the still echoing voice of God from the time before time when God spoke the universe into existence.
God created with the power of His voice and as we have been created Imago Dei, in God’s image, we too have been given a great deal of power in our words. This morning I submit to you, for your consideration, that Communication, language, the art of speaking, is more than just the transfer of thoughts and ideas via sound waves. Our words contain the power of life and of death; the power of blessing and cursing; both for us and for the world around us.
Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” (NKJV) This is exactly why we must learn to tame our tongue; just as we must bring our thoughts captive, we must also learn to bring our tongue captive to our thoughts so that our mind and what it expresses might bring glory and honor to God.
Too often we use a modified form of the brick method, throwing words like bricks at other people. Today, let us examine the words of James in regard to the untamed tongue to learn what we may learn about the deadly and blessed tongue.
Exposition
(v1) This is an interesting way for the author, James, who most likely the earthly half brother of Jesus, to begin this section of his epistle. This section of the epistle focuses entirely on taming the tongue, on controlling our language. I suppose that it is indeed fitting then that he opens this section with an admonishment toward those whose calling is necessarily involved with speech.
As a pastor I am very cognizant of the fact that my words have great power for both blessing and cursing. A careless word spoken to someone in need can easily cause lasting hurt to them as they see the pastor a representative of Christ Himself. It is because of this that I tend to be careful with what words I choose to use.
This lesson is not for pastors and other teachers alone though, is it? While the main thrust in this passage is toward those who teach in the Church, there is a lesson for all of us to learn; we must be careful with what we say and how we say it. Not so much so that our language is flowery and poetic, but so that what we say is honest and full of truth. Since the power of life and death are in the tongue, then we must take seriously the words of our mouth.
We must consider heavily the type of speech that we use. Are our words full of life; encouraging others and lifting them up or are our words full of death; causing others to be wounded and discouraged. What James is talking about has very little to do with eloquence and our manner of speech. Sometimes even bad grammar and poor enunciation, the finer points of communication are not required because eloquence isn’t necessarily flowery language inasmuch as it is heartfelt expression and commitment to the truth.
I am reminded of the prayer of the country preacher in Mississippi, who prayed the following prayer one Sunday morning just before he was to deliver the sermon. Consider this prayer of a country preacher in Red Rock, Mississippi:
“O Lord, give Thy servant this mornin’ the eyes of the eagle and the wisdom of the owl; connect his soul with the gospel telephone in the central skies; ‘luminate his brow with the Sun of Heaven; possess his mind with love for the people; turpentine his imagination; grease his lips with ’possum oil; loosen his tongue with the sledge hammer of Thy power; ’lectrify his brain with the lightnin’ of the word; put ’petual motion on his arms, fill him plum full of the dynamite of Thy glory; ’noint him all over with the kerosene oil of Thy salvation and set him on the fire. Amen!”
The country preacher’s prayer, though perhaps not up to the latest standards of English diction, was honest; full of truth, and it was from the heart. Honesty and truth are the true measure godly eloquence, not oratory skill.
In Matthew 5:33-37 Jesus says, “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ’No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” (NKJV)
(v2-7) James goes on the make the comparisons of the tongue, though being a small thing in the human body, as having the power to steer the entirety of a person. Indeed, our words have the power of blessing and cursing, life and death. What we say has tremendous power to steer our thoughts and actions.
Luke 6:45 Jesus says, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (NKJV)
Here, James is making what is not a contradictory point to the idea that the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart, but a complementary point; while it is out of the mouth that the heart bears its fruit, the tongue, our words, also have the ability to steer our thoughts, actions, and even our lives, just as a rudder steers a ship. Even though the tongue is little compared to the body, just as a rudder is small in comparison to a ship, it has a great influence.
Our words have the power to create, to influence, and to shape the very nature of reality. What we say to others and what we say to ourselves has tremendous influence over the way that we will see and shape the world around us.
Perhaps you recall the childhood rhyme, “sticks and stones may bread my bones but words will never hurt me.” While I appreciate the idea that we do need to learn to rise above the words and opinions of the naysayer, this familiar childhood response to verbal abuse is not necessarily true is it?
The wounds are often deep and lasting which are inflicted by the careless words of another person. Deeper still are the wounds inflicted by the things which we tell ourselves. Are you someone who always reminds others of why something they are doing won’t work? Worse yet, are you someone who constantly reminds yourself of all of the reasons that you are going to fail?
What we say to others matters because our words have a way of shaping reality. When we tell others that it won’t work or we remind them of all of the possible negative things which might occur, we, in effect, plant seeds of destruction and effectively work toward shaping that person’s reality.
When our self talk is full of reasons why we don’t quite measure up, why we can’t make it, or why we simply aren’t good enough, our words have the power to make those things come to pass because we have received from God the power to create with our words; we have been created in His image; He spoke the world into existence, just as we very often speak life or death into our circumstances. Our words are incredibly powerful; let us learn to speak words of life.
(v8-9) Perhaps you, some of you, like me, have been described as a person of many words? On October 14, 1912, the life of outspoken and energetic presidential candidate, Theodore Roosevelt was saved by his many words.
Roosevelt had just served one term as president, and was reapplying for the job. As he left his hotel in Milwaukee on that day, he stuffed his thick, wordy campaign speech in his breast pocket. He was soon confronted by a gun-toting bartender. The angry assailant fired at Teddy, hoping that Roosevelt would suffer the same fate as his predecessor, President McKinley. The bullet did crack one of Roosevelt’s ribs, but the thickness of his speech probably saved him from death.
While many words were life-saving in this one incident, generally the more words you spit out, the more trouble you bring to yourself. Jean Paul Sartre once said, “Words are loaded pistols.” And, our Creator dispensed this perspective: “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise” (Proverbs 10:19 NIV). Words – choose them carefully. And let us make sure we err on the side of saying too little than too much rather than too much too often.
Perhaps you have heard the Soliloquy which was written by one particular tongue. “I am your tongue! I am an important fellow. The Bible mentions me about 215 times. When I speak kind, thoughtful and true words, there is happiness; when I speak mean, untrue, angry or complaining words, there is trouble.”
If there is any area of our life where self control and growth in grace is needed, surely it is in our tongue. In times of trial we must learn to set our rudder, our tongue, straight and true, praising God and speaking words of life! Our words have the power to shape our lives as we speak words of truth we will be encouraged by truth and encourage others in the truth.
Every word we speak is like a seed planted in our life and in the life of another. It is not that we deny reality. It is not that we deny that there is trouble; it is that when we speak words of life we remember the goodness of God to carry us through the trouble. It is that when we speak words of life we begin to create a different kind of tomorrow.
We must allow God to work in quenching the fires of our tongues so that our words are words of life, words of truth, and words of blessing.
(v10-12) In verse ten James writes, “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” We have been created to worship God. “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.” (Psalms 63:5 NKJV)
The Bible Knowledge Commentary says it this way, “The point is clear: a believer’s tongue should not be an instrument of inconsistency. Small and influential, the tongue must be controlled; satanic and infectious, the tongue must be corralled; salty and inconsistent, the tongue must be cleansed.”
Conclusion
Every time we open our mouths, whether it is to speak to a friend, a neighbor, and acquaintance, or a family member, we have a choice to make; will we speak words of life? When we speak to ourselves, hopefully not out loud walking down the street, be careful about doing that, will we remind ourselves of the word of God, words of blessing and life, or will we speak self-defeating words to ourselves?
Words are powerful, like bricks, which can be used to build up others and our own faith or they can be used as weapons to tear others, and ourselves, down. Amen.
