A young pastor tells the story of his infant son and a ham sandwich. As ham sandwiches go, he said it was perfection. A thick slab of ham, a fresh bun, crisp lettuce and plenty of expensive, light brown, gourmet mustard. The corners of his jaw(s) ached in anticipation, He carried this precious sandwich it to the picnic table in the backyard, picked it up with both hands and was about to take a bite when his wife stopped suddenly by his side. "Honey, would you please hold Johnny, while I get my sandwich," she asked. Johnny was their little six week old infant son, an adorable little bundle of joy.
The young father awkwardly balanced his little son between his left elbow and shoulder and was just beginning to reach again for the ham sandwich when he noticed a streak of mustard on his fingers. Now the young pastor loved mustard. And he had no napkin. So he decided to just licked it off. The only problem was It wasn’t mustard. No man ever put a baby down faster. The young pastor sprinted into the house with his tongue protruding from his mouth and a cry of augghh escaping from his lips. With the each of washcloth gripped in each hand he did the sort of routine shoeshine guys do, only on did it on my tongue. Whit tears running down her cheeks his wife exclaimed, "Now you know why they call that mustard ’Poupon.’"
I fear far too often Christians are guilty of having a little more than mustard on their tongues. The quick, caustic tongues of Christians are even more frightening to me than any of the big public scandals of the church. People don’t need to look to the misconduct of the Catholic priests to find hypocrisy. They need not go any father than their own local community and their own local churches. There is a force that is destroying God’s church from within us, a force that has done as much if not more damage to the church than any other problem. I am talking about the inability of Christians to control their tongues. You may thing that this issue pales in comparison to other issues but I would argue more people have been kept from the church, kept from the kingdom of God by a loose scathing tongue of some self proclaimed Christian then has ever been kept from church because of some pastor who embezzled funds, or had an affair or molested a child. And I think that is a travesty beyond understanding. Tell me, if you were outside of the church and you heard people from within the church talking about each other and about their pastors the way that church people do, would you want to be part of us?
People come to church and sing praises to God, offer prayers, and then leave to cut people to pieces over Sunday lunch with other members of the church. They go to worship and then criticize and bad mouth how the worship was done. Sometimes they are still in the church when they are spreading the poison of gossip and dissension – in the name of prayer concerns or “we just think you should know pastor.” Sunday School meetings and luncheon are used to spread the poison of discord. — and a fire of destruction spreads. Far too often we as the church have made a sport of gossiping. The time has come for us to stop. If we are to accomplish anything that God desires for us to, then we must learn to control our tongues.
Through out God Word we find admonitions to control our tongue. Job 15:5 says “sin prompts your mouth” Ps 34:13 says keep your mouth from evil and your tongue from spreading lies. Proverbs 15:2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. Isaiah 59:3 For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things. 1 Peter 3:10 “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. But James Chapter 3 says more than any other book about the tongue.
He begins by warning teachers about the power of their words. And then he expounds the thought by reminding all Christians about the might of the tongue. He points out that in fact the sins of the tongue is at least one of the sins that is common to everyone. Like the teacher whose errant teachings can cause great harm in the church the uncontrolled tongue can cause immense destruction. If you are using the outline in your bulletin, James gives us three tongue truths (try and say that three times really fast). The first is the “Tongue is small but powerful.” The tongue bears influence far out of proportion to its size. A wild Arabian stallion is control by a little three inch bit, a large aircraft carrier or cruise liner is controlled by a small rudder. The words of the tongue are like dynamite, if used properly and in the right place they are beneficial. Used improperly and in the wrong place they produce a lot of damage.
A Japanese proverb says, “the tongue is but three inches long, yet it can kill man six feet high.” I don’t know about you, but my biggest mistakes are the ones I make with my mouth. They’re the words that I say that I shouldn’t say or the words that I don’t say that I should have. 99% of the trouble that I find myself in in church, in life, in my family is a result of my tongue. (Just ask Gene he’ll tell you) This is an extremely powerful instrument. It is so powerful that James says if there is ever a person who has never sinned with their tongue they are be perfect in Christ. For he says, if you can control the tongue from sinning you can control your whole body and soul from sinning.
The second tongue truth James brings to light, though, is this. “The tongue cannot be tamed by man” or woman for that fact. The tongue is susceptible to the influence of Satan and hell. He uses a metaphor of wild deadly animal. He says the tongue is like a vicious lion, a mean tiger or a deadly cobra – restless and full of poison. But James says there is one big difference between these wild animals and the tongue. Man has found a way to tame and control the animals. A lion tamer can control a cage full of lions with a whip and a chair, a snake charmer charms the cobra with a flute but man is incapable of controlling one little bitty tongue.
One day a young farmer’s son was caught telling a lie about a classmate at school. His father told him to go to the wood shed but the young boy complained telling his father but he only told it to two or three people. He would just go and tell those people that he lied and everything would be okay. The farmer looked pensively at his young son then told him to go get the chicken he had left out by the barn for dinner. He told his son to pluck the feathers off of the chicken and count each one them. After the boy had counted the feathers the farmer told him to go out and throw the feathers into the wind. When the boy had completed the task his father told him. Son, a little lied told to one or two people is like those feathers, go out see how easy it is too pick up every little feather you cast in the wind. The words of the tongue spread like wild fire. The tongue is like a small match that when carelessly lit can run out of control and cost lives and billions and billions dollars worth of damage.
But, the third tongue truth is more enlightening than that for the “tongue reveals a person’s character.” Matthew 12 says “the tree is known by its fruit.” People know what is in you by what comes out of you. If you claim to be a follower of Christ but the thing that you do and the way that you talk doesn’t match that claim then you are not fooling anyone but yourself. A person can tell you what’s in your heart by listening to your speech. If you are gossiping and tearing others down constantly then they know what’s in your heart. How? Because Jesus said it’s obvious. A good heart will not produce bad fruit. The tongue has a way of revealing who we really are. It’s impossible to hide it.
I don’t think any of us would deny that we have a problem with our tongues. Some of us struggle more than others, but each of us needs to find a way to tame that beast. Let me give you six steps to consider in this process. First, RETHINK YOUR FREEDOM OF SPEECH. We live in a country where we insit on our freedom of speech. You can’t tell me what to say or what not to say! I have my rights! I have the right to speak my mind! Sound familiar? It’s our constitutional right. It’s our God give right. Or is it? Do we have the right to speak at the expense of others? Do we have the right to speak even when our words may hurt the person whom we are speaking about or to. Do we really have the right to say what we want, when we want?
The world says we do but as followers of Jesus Christ I would beg to differ. If anyone had rights it was Jesus Christ but the scripture says that when he was persecuted, when he was brought to stand trial rather than standing up for his rights and saying he had done nothing wrong, rather than calling ten thousand angels to destroy the world and set him free he “kept silent”. He surrendered his freedom of speech for you and me!. Paul says in Romans 12:2 that we are not to conform to the patterns of this world. The world says you have the right to speak your mind but the Apostle Paul says that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Before you speak your mind consider this: has your mind been transformed. If it’s been changed to reflect God’s love for people, then the things that come out of your mouth wil be different. Rethink your “freedom of speech.
Secondly, LEAD WITH YOUR EARS AND FOLLOW WITH YOUR TONGUE. It has been said God gave us two ears and one mouth so that we should listen twice as much as we speak. How many times are we guilty of the opposite? We speak without ever listening. We are so busy trying to make sure the other person gets our point that we never hear what they are saying. We are so busy complaining about our bosses and what they do that we never follow thing through to see what might happen. We spend more time complaining that our professors and teacher give us too much homework then reading the assignments and seeing just exactly what we could learn. Oh, what a difference it would make if wewould all stop and spend more time listening and less time talking.
The third practical step I’d encourage you to take is to “BITE YOUR TONGUE MORE OFTEN.” In radio there is a button on the soundboard that allows the DJ to block out something before it comes across the air. For instance, if there is a caller on the air who uses inappropriate language there is just enough delay time between when the DJ hears the person speak and the time that it will broadcast that the DJ can hit the button and mute the language before it goes out on the air. Don’t you wish we had delay buttons? You know? When you get upset and you say something you shouldn’t have, you could just hit the mute button before the person to whom you are speaking hears it. But it doesn’t work that way. Most of the time our problem isn’t that we don’t say enough, but, that we say too much. James 1:26 says if you think you are religious but you don’t bridle your tongue your religion is worthless. It’s not okay to always speak your mind. Sometimes it better to bite your tongue.
In Matthew 12:36 Jesus says, “But I tell you that [mankind] will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." On the Day of Judgment we will have to given an account for every careless and hurtful word we utter. That should make us think twice before we speak. How many careless hurtful words have you spoke this week?
The fourth principle to taming the tongue is a crucial one for the life the church: REFUSE TO TEAR OTHERS DOWN! The book of James tells us not to speak evil against one another, or as the Message Bible puts it don’t badmouth each other. Someone has observed, “The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail ore than his tongue.”
And fifthly, when you are tempted to speak ill of one another, or to spread gossip or lies, PRACTICE A LITTLE SPEECH THERAPY. We often fool ourselves into believing that what we say, what we pass on is really for the best. Most of the time our gossip is really for selfish purposes. We want something to talk about. We want others to think we are important, that we know everything that is going on. We want to extract a little revenge on someone who has hurt us. Do you understand that that the need to gossip or to tear someone down with your words comes from sin, comes from the depths of fires of hell, from Satan himself?
Before you say something about someone else, stop and ask yourself these five questions: Is it true? Is it necessary? Are your motives pure? Do you have permission to say it? Will it further the kingdom of God? If your answer is NO to any one of those questions then don’t say it. When you hear someone speak something about another person rather than listening stop them in their tracks and tell them that you don’t want to hear it. If you need to, remove yourself from the situation so that you aren’t dragged into the middle of their sin.
And lastly, to the tame the beast within, SURRENDER YOUR TONGUE TO GOD. Alone, we cannot tame our tongue. We can’t control our tongue. I don’t seem to have the ability to tame my tongue and neither do you, the only way we can use our tongues to build others up rather than tearing them down, the only way we can build the kingdom of God with our words instead of being a pawn of the evil one, is by our surrendering our tongue to God. By saying Yes, I know I’ve got a problem. “I’m sorry for hurting others and I want to use my tongue to give praise to God and build others up instead of doing more damage.” This morning as you come to the altar, as you receive God’s Holy communion I commend you to lay your tongues on the altar – not literally – I know some of you out there who would do it just to get me tickled. But I don’t mean literally lay your tongues up here but I mean figuratively, spiritually, give your tongue to God and let him teach you how to team the wild beast within!
Amen and Amen.
A lethal, relentless flaming missile which assaults with hellish power, blistering and destroying at will. And yet it doesn’t look anything like the brutal beast it is. Neatly hidden behind ivory palace gates, its movements are an intriguing study of coordination. It can curl itself either into a cheery whistle or manipulate a lazy, afternoon yawn. With no difficulty it can flick a husk of popcorn from between two jaw teeth or hold a thermometer just so. And it is tricky! It can help you enjoy the flavor of a stick of peppermint as it switches from side to side without once getting nipped. Moments later is can follow the directions of a trumpeter, allowing him to play ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ without a single miscue. But watch out! Let your thumb get smashed with a hammer or your toe get clobbered on a chair and that slippery creature in your mouth will suddenly play the flip side of its nature. (Charles Swindoll, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life)
“Beneath this sod, a lump of clay lays Arabella Young; who on the 21st of May began to hold her tongue.”
People would perhaps be fortunate to be like crocodiles, at least in one respect. The crocodiles have jaw,lips and teeth but no tongue.
My name is Gossip. I have no respect for justice. I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives. I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age. The more I am quoted, the more I am believed. I flourish at every level of society. My victims are helpless. They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no face. To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I become. I am nobodies friend. Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same. I topple governments, wreck marriages, and ruin careers -- cause sleepless nights, heartaches, and indigestion. I spawn suspicion and generate grief. I make innocent people cry in their pillows. Even my name hisses… I make headlines and headaches. Before you repeat a story, ask yourself, Is it true? Is it fair? Is it necessary? If not – shut up!
Laura Schlessinger, The Ten Commandments: The Significance of God’s Laws in Everyday Life, p. 203
NOTE:
Illust. General Robt. E. Lee was once asked what he thought of a fellow officer in the Confederate Army--an officer who had made some mean-spirited remarks about him. Lee thought for a moment, then rated him as being very satisfactory. The person who asked the question seemed troubled. "But general, I guess you don’t know what he’s been saying about you." "Oh yes," answered Lee. "I know. But I was asked my opinion of him, not his opinion of me."
2. Controlling the tongue is one of life’s greatest challenges.
a. Someone has observed, "The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail more than his tongue."
James has more to say about the tongue than any other book of the Bible; not a coincidence as James is about "practical Christian living."
The Tongue is Very Small but Very Powerful!
1. < Illust. >
a. In comparison to an Arabian stallion a bit is quite small.
b. In comparison to an aircraft carrier a rudder is quite small!
c. Illust. Words are like dynamite--if used properly and in the right place they are beneficial. Used improperly and in the wrong place they produce a lot of damage!
How and what we talk about--the "spin" we put on life by our words reveals our hearts in a way nothing else does!
2. Read Matt. 12:33-35. a tree produces fruit good tree good fruit, bad tree bad fruit
3. Illust. Bruce Barton: "For good or ill, your conversation is your advertisement. Everytime you open your mouth you let men look into your mind."
KEEP A TIGHT REIN ON YOUR TONGUE (1:26).
1. The tongue must be bridled constantly!
2. "He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity" (Prov. 21:23).
C. REFUSE TO TEAR OTHER PEOPLE DOWN (4:11; 5:9).
D. SPEAK ONLY WHAT IS TRUE (5:12).
E. PRAY FOR GOD’S HELP IN TAMING THE TONGUE (3:8).
1. "No man can tame the tongue!"
2. We need God’s help
Following from “Taming the Beast – Practical Guidelines for Controlling your Tongue” Sermony by Keith Manry found on Sermon Central
It seems that over the past several months the media has had a heyday with the church. For some time you couldn’t turn on the television without hearing about some new development in the decay of the Catholic Church. More and more accusations have been made against priests around the area of sexual misconduct. Just recently the Episcopalian Church has been in the spotlight for the controversy of their new homosexual bishop. Every time I hear another story my heart breaks in two, not because I condone what is going on but because the eyes of the world are on the church and many are saying, “I told you that the church is nothing but a bunch of hypocrites.”
But here’s what’s even more frightening to me than any of these scandals that are in the eyes of the media. People don’t need to look to the misconduct of Catholic priests to find hypocrisy. They need not go any farther than their own local community and their own community churches. There’s a force that’s destroying the church that comes from within us, a force that has done as much if not more damage than any other problem the church has ever encountered. I’m talking about the inability of Christians to control their tongues. You may think that this issue pales in comparison to what’s going on in the Catholic Church, but I would say that due to the sheer magnitude of this problem that it poses just as serious of a threat to the Kingdom of God as any other problem. For across the country, around the world church members are some of the most skilled gossips. Church members are some of the cruelest, meanest people around. Tell me, if you were outside of the church and you saw people behave like we inside the church often do, if you heard people from within the church talking about each other and about their pastors the way church people do would you want to be a part of us?
For too long we as the church have a made a sport out of gossiping. People get together for the sole purpose of gossiping. The time has come for that to stop. If we as the church are to accomplish the things God desires of us then we must learn to control our tongues
The havoc that the tongue can wreak is monumental! It is the tongue as we’ll learn today that can either build things up or tear them down. It is a beast that is too frequently out of control. As Christians we are admonished to tame that beast and rather than inflicting wounds use it to build the Kingdom of God.
Join me this morning as we seek to tame the beast within each of us and examine practical guidelines for controlling our tongues. Let us pray…
If you’re following along in the outline that’s in your bulletins this morning you’ll see that there are three truths about the tongue from James 3. The first truth is that the tongue is small but POWERFUL. The author of James begins chapter 3 by speaking of the power of the tongue. He says that if you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, in other words, if you could find someone who knew how to control his/her tongue at all times, who never said anything wrong, then you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life.
I don’t know about you, but my biggest mistakes are the ones I make with my mouth. They’re words that I say that I shouldn’t say or words that I don’t say that I should. 99% of the trouble that I find myself in, in the church, in life, and in my family is a result of this little instrument right here (point to tongue). This is an extremely powerful instrument. Just like the bit in the mouth of a horse that guides its entire body, or the small rudder on a large ship that directs the ship even in a powerful storm, so the tongue even though it’s a small part of our body is perhaps the most powerful part.
The second truth about our tongue that we find in this passage is found in verses 5b through 8. The author says: “How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but NO ONE CAN TAME THE TONGUE - a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” The tongue is small but DANGEROUS!
As kids we used to respond to the insults and hurtful words of others with the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Whoever said that couldn’t have been more wrong! Broken bones heal much quicker than the wounds that are left by an out of control tongue. We’ve all been there. We’ve all been hurt by the words of others and we’ve all hurt others with our words. I don’t know about you but I’d rather have some come and slap me than to have some talk about me. I can get over the pain of the physical injury but it’s the pain that’s inflicted by the tongue which is hard to heal from.
The third truth about the tongue from James 3 is that it’s small but REVEALING. In verses 9-12 the author of James points out that just as fresh water doesn’t come from salt water, and olives don’t come from fig trees, so too blessings can not come from the same mouth that curses come from. It can’t be so. And do you know why? Listen to what Jesus had to say in Matthew 12: “the tree is known by its fruit!”
People know what’s in you by what comes out of you! If you claim to be a follower of Christ but the things that you do and the way that you talk doesn’t match that claim then you’re not fooling anyone. I can tell you what’s in your heart by listening to your speech. If you’re gossiping and tearing others down constantly then I know what’s in your heart. How? because Jesus said it’s obvious. A good heart will not produce bad fruit. The tongue has a way of revealing who we really are. It’s impossible to hide it.
I don’t think any of us would deny that we have problems with our tongues. Some of us struggle more than others, but each of us needs to find a way to tame that beast. Let me give you five steps to consider in this process: First, RETHINK YOUR FREEDOM OF SPEECH. We live in a country where we insist on our freedom of speech. You can’t tell me what to say or what not to say! I have my rights! I have the right to speak my mind! Sound familiar? It’s our constitutional right. It’s our God given right. Or is it? Do we have the right to speak at the expense of others? Do we have the right to speak even when our words may hurt the person who we are speaking to or about? Do we really have the right? The world says we do but as a follower of Jesus Christ I would beg to differ. If anyone had rights it was Jesus Christ but the scripture says that when he was persecuted when he was brought to stand trial rather than standing up for his rights and saying he had done nothing wrong, rather than calling ten thousand angels to destroy the world and set him free he “kept silent!” He surrendered his freedom of speech for you and me!
Paul says in Romans 12:2 that we are not to conform to the patterns of this world. The world says you have the right to speak your mind, but the Apostle Paul says that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Before you speak your mind consider this: has your mind been transformed? If it’s been changed to reflect God’s love for people then the things that come out of your mouth will be different. Rethink your “freedom of speech.”
The second guideline to taming this beast is to LEAD WITH YOUR EARS AND FOLLOW WITH YOUR TONGUE. James 1:19 says “be quick to listen and slow to speak.” How many of you have a problem with that? I know I do. I have a tendency to react to quickly. When I’m arguing with my wife I don’t always listen as well as I should and instead spout off without really hearing what she’s said. Do you ever find yourself in the same predicament? Oh what a difference it would make if we would all stop and spend more time listening and less time talking.
The third practical step I’d encourage you to take is to BITE YOUR TONGUE MORE OFTEN. When I worked in radio there was a button on the soundboard that allowed us to block out something that came across the air. For instance, if there was a caller on the air who were to use inappropriate language there was just enough delay time between the time I heard that person speak and the time that it was broadcast that I could hit that button and it would mute the language. I often wish we had delay buttons built into us. You know? When you get upset and you say something you shouldn’t you have a few seconds to mute it before the person to whom you’re speaking hears it! But it doesn’t work that way. Most of the time our problem isn’t that we don’t say enough but that we say too much. James 1:26 says that if you think you’re religious but you don’t bridle your tongue your religion is worthless. It’s not ok to always speak your mind. Sometimes it’s better to bite your tongue.
One of the wisest men I’ve ever met was an intern pastor at a Nazarene Church my parents attended and where we were married. This man said very little, but when he did speak you knew it was good. When he spoke people listened.
Jesus said in Matthew 12:36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned. “ that on the day of judgment we will have to give an account for every careless word we utter. That should make us think twice before we speak. How many careless words have you spoken this week?
The fourth principle to taming the beast is a crucial one for the life of the church: REFUSE TO TEAR OTHERS DOWN! The book of James tells us not to speak evil against one another, or in the Message translation not to “badmouth each other.” When we badmouth each other and disguise it as gossip and pretend that it’s ok to do, the only people we’re fooling are ourselves. The Bible is very clear on the consequences of gossip. One day we will be held accountable for the words we’ve said. The fires that we set with our tongues James says come right from the pit of hell! I don’t know about you but I’m frightened of being used as an instrument of Satan to cause damage here on this earth. And the Word of God says that when you use your tongue to damage others you are spreading that fire from Hell. Don’t be mistaken: you’ll be judged for that!
Finally, in light of the damage that our tongues do and in light of our need to tame them I want to encourage you to SURRENDER YOUR TONGUE. James 3:8 says that no one can tame the tongue. The truth is we can’t control our tongues. I don’t have the ability to tame my tongue and neither do you, the only way that we can use our tongues to build others up rather than tearing them down, and to build the kingdom of God rather than being used as a pawn of the Evil One to destroy that Kingdom is by surrendering our tongues to God. By saying, “Yes, I know I’ve got a problem.” “I’m sorry for hurting others and I want to use my tongue to give praise to God and build others up instead of doing any more damage.”
If you want to tame your tongue as I do then let me encourage you to think about some speech therapy. Before you speak something that may be harmful ask yourself these five questions:
First, IS IT TRUE? Is what you’re going to speak the truth? If not, STOP. If it is, second, IS IT NECESSARY? Jesus said you’re going to be judged for every careless word. Bite your tongue more often. There are so many things that we say that are not necessary. Third, IS IT BENEFICIAL? Is what you’re going to say going to build someone up or tear them down? Is going to do good or is going to hurt someone? Fourth, ask yourself, DO I HAVE PERMISSION TO SHARE IT? I’m sure you all know people who you consider friends who you can tell anything to, because you know it will stop there. But we also all know people who are the first to spread that news all over town. Before you speak think about what kind of friend you’re being. Finally, ask yourself, IS MY MOTIVE PURE? Why are you saying what you’re saying? Most of the time our gossip is for selfish purposes. We want something to talk about. We want others to think we’re important. Do you know that need you have to gossip, it comes from sin. Give it up.
As we close this morning I want to say one more thing: I know that we all struggle with our tongues to varying degrees. On a scale of 1 to 10 of severity whether you’re a 1 or a ten there’s something you can do about gossip. When you hear someone speak something about another person rather than listening stop them in their tracks and tell them that you don’t want to hear that. If you need to, remove yourself from that social situation so that you aren’t dragged into the middle of their sin. It’s time that we as Christians begin behaving as Christians. If we can get our tongues in line, if we can learn to not say what we shouldn’t say and say what we should the testimony that we’ll have to the world around us will be incredible! Will you rethink your freedom of speech, listen more, bite your tongue more, refuse to tear others down, and surrender your tongue to Jesus Christ? This is not some extra thing that God is requesting of us. This is a mandate for being a disciple. We have no choice! If we are to be his followers then we must behave like them, because if we don’t one day we’ll be held accountable.
James illustrates the power of the tongue using 6 metaphors.
(1) He likens the tongue to the bits we put in horses mouths. We can control a 2,000-pound horse with a small bit in his mouth. (2) He likens the tongue to the rudder of a ship. A huge ship can be steered in any direction with a relatively small rudder. James’ point in these two metaphors is this. The tongue is a small part of our body. Because it is so small we might think it is rather inconsequential. We might think the words we speak are really no big deal. But James is telling us to think again. Our words can set the whole direction of our lives.
verse 6 of James 3 another powerful metaphor is used. (3) “The tongue also is a fire.” Last year a fire in Northern California burned over 14,000 acres resulting in one fatality. It took 1350 firefighters to put the blaze out. Do you know how that horrific fire got started? It started from one small spark made by a 15-year-old boy playing with matches. James writes, “Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.”
How could just a few words of gossip destroy a friendship, a marriage, a ministry, a church? Just a few words—it seems all so small and insignificant. But James says those little sparks can cause great destruction.
James uses (4) the metaphor of wild, deadly animal to describe the tongue. It’s like a vicious lion. It’s like a mean tiger. It’s like a deadly cobra—restless and full of poison.
But James says there’s one big difference between these wild animals and the tongue.
Man has found ways to tame and control deadly animals. Isn’t it amazing to watch a lion tamer in a cage full of lions with only his whip and chair? Isn’t it amazing to watch a snake charmer play his flute and take a deadly cobra in hand? But the one thing man does not seem to be able to tame is the tongue.
James’ (5)th metaphor is in verses 9-11—the tongue is like a fountain of water. But James says when that fountain gives clean, refreshing water on the one hand and them gives polluted water on the other hand something is wrong. He’s talking about the Christian who comes to church on a Sunday morning like this and joins in on the songs of praise and worship—out of his or her mouth flows thanksgiving to God. But then that same person Monday speaks words of slander, tells dirty jokes. Something is wrong. It’s not natural for a fountain to pour out clean water and then turn around our pour forth polluted water. “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come blessings and cursings.” James is saying there ought to be a consistency in our talk.
(6) The metaphor of the fig tree is injected in verse 13 to call for the same consistency. A good tree ought to bear good fruit all the time. A fig tree does not bear olives. A grapevine does not bear figs. If Christ dwells in us the fruit of our lips should be consistent with the reality of what we are.
When we read further in James 3 and into James 4 we see more clearly what James is getting at. There were conflicts between people in the church—conflicts caused by wrong attitudes and wrong motives. Conflicts caused by harsh and unkind words. So James talks to them about the way they talk to and about one another.
I’m careful of the words I say
to keep them soft and sweet,
I never know from day to day
which ones I’ll have to eat.”
One reason people gossip is insecurity. When we know we are doing exactly what God wants us to do—when our souls are at rest and at peace we can afford to leave the matter with God. But if we’re not so sure God’s going to back us up, we tend to go find people to agree with us. Haven’t you found it much easier to control your tongue when you know you have done right and are simply resting in God?
Words seasoned with Grace are better than words sprinkled with judgment
James 3: 2- 12 also tells us that when a man is able to control his tongue, he would also be able to control the rest of his body. The passage also tells us that the tongue is a little member that boasts of great things. It also describes the tongue as a fire. When fire is controlled, it can be very useful to mankind, but when fire becomes uncontrollable, it can be a very dangerous destroyer.
Excessive talking: Proverbs 10: 19 says, “In the multitude of words, there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.” When you talk at the rate of 300 words per minute, and you are not willing to listen to other people, then your tongue needs deliverance.
2. Speaking idle or careless words: When you utter idle and useless words, it is a sign that your tongue needs deliverance.
3. Gossiping and talebearing: A gossip is the devil’s broadcasting station. Even if it is only a person’s spouse that he or she is telling a gossip, it is still gossip and the person is a broadcaster for satan.
4. Lying: Proverbs 12: 22 says, “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord; but they that deal truly are his delight.” When you tell lies, no matter how little, your lips are an abomination unto God. A business lie or any lie at all, told for whatever reason is still a lie.
5. Hastiness in speech.
James uses three different elements to explain the power of the tongue. Now the first two actually lead you to see that it is not necessarily the instrument as much as it is the one playing it. Some one has to pull the reins on the bit, and someone has to steer the rudder.
The assured Christian is more motion than notion, more work than word, more life than lip, more hand than tongue.
Thomas Benton Brooks (1608-1680)
Actions don’t always speak louder than words-your tongue can undo everything you do.
her tongue is so long she can seal an envelope after she puts it in the mailbox.
-Edythe Draper, Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World
She talks so much that when she came home from a Florida vacation, her tongue was sunburned.
The tongue is but three inches long, yet it can kill a man six feet high.
Japanese Proverb
If you have love, you are not only going to think no evil, you’re going to take your tongue and have it nailed to the cross so that you bless instead of curse.
Billy Graham (1918- )
You come to church and sing praises to God, offer prayers, and then leave to cut people to pieces over Sunday lunch with other members of the church. Sometimes you are still in church when you are spreading the poison of gossip and dissension. You use Sunday School meetings to spread the poison of discord — and the fire spreads. You worship and then criticize how the worship was done. Can your heart be right when out of your mouth comes both praise and cursing?
