“Faith That Works: Setting the Temperature”
James 3:1-12
What do you think is the greatest single factor in the life of a congregation? What has the most influence in the building up – or tearing down – of a body of people? The preacher? Consistory? The style of worship? The education and youth program? According to the Bible the greatest single factor in the life of a congregation, or any group of people, is the tongue. As Proverbs 18:21 bluntly states: “The tongue has the power of life and death...” How we use our tongue, the words we say and how we say them, is literally an issue of life and death. So how will we use our tongues? WE CAN BE INSTRUMENTS OF BLESSING WEN WE RECOGNIZE THE DYNAMICS OF THE TONGUE. So let’s look at two of those dynamics this morning.
First, consider the POTENTIAL OF THE TONGUE. Why is the tongue so important and influential? One reason is that IT GOVERNS LIFE. James, in the third chapter of his letter, used two examples (3:3-5): “When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.” Think about THE BIT. IT RESTRAINS. As beautiful as a horse may be, a small bit in its mouth allows the reins to direct it. Without the bit, the horse is free to go wildly through the countryside; with the bit the rider can control its direction. So, said James, the tongue is like a bit – it can either allow us to run wildly off on tangents, or it can give us direction. The tongue can control us any way it wishes. As for THE RUDDER, IT GUIDES. The direction of a huge ship is determined by a little piece of metal. In the strongest of winds the rudder can put a ship back on course, yet on even the smoothest sea it can turn the ship off course. On May 21, 1941 the “unsinkable” German battleship, the Bismarck, was sighted in the North Atlantic. Immediately planes and ships from the Royal British Navy sped to the scene. As the Bismarck headed toward the German-controlled French coast where it would be safe from attack, the massive battleship, to the astonishment of all, suddenly swung around and headed straight back into the strength of the British ships. At the same time she began to steer a zigzag course, which made it easier for the British to overtake her. The reason? A torpedo had damaged her rudder and without it the “unsinkable” ship was sunk. As the rudder controls a ship, so the tongue controls a person.
Not only does the tongue potentially govern life, but also IT DESTROYS LIFE. Turning again to James 3:5-6 we read: “Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body, It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” James indicates that the tongue IS A FIRE! As such it can cause great harm. It speaks of sin, participates in sin, and promotes sin. Who among us has not been burned by the tongue of someone who, with a few choice words, cut us to the quick? How many of us as parents have not, at some point in time, said something that burned and harmed our children? The tongue, like fire, does lasting damage. Proverbs 18:8 says of words “They go down to a man’s inmost parts.” The image is that words, like food, are internalized, digested, and carried around forever; they live on long after they have been spoken. The fire never dies out.
The tongue also destroys life in that IT IS A FURY. It is uncontrollable. James 3:7-8: “All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no one can tame the tongue.” The only animal we cannot tame is the one in our mouth. We can see our dilemma in Proverbs 10:19 (TLB): “Don’t talk so much. You keep putting your foot in your mouth. Be sensible and turn off the flow.” Like a tornado rendering mass destruction as it rages uncontrollably through a town, so the tongue is a fury which destroys life. Deep within our brains is the limbic system. It is the seat of our emotions. When the system is overstimulated, we exhibit our strongest feelings, ranging from rage to terror. One way to over-activate this limbic system is to talk too much; and once the system is overactivated we talk even more. Then a vicious cycle has begun. Talking too much makes us more vulnerable to emotional and behavioral chaos, and we tend to listen less and respond too quickly. Someone once aptly said that the tongue, being a wet place, is likely to slip when going fast. As the NEB translates Prov. 10:19, “When men talk too much, sin is never far away; common sense holds its tongue.”
The tongue also destroys life because IT IS FATAL. It can kill. James 3:8: “It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” Whether it works slowly or quickly poison is deadly; and it doesn’t take much poison to kill. Isn’t this also true of words? In Psalm 140:3 the Psalmist describes the wicked: “They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s; the poison of vipers is on their lips.” Words can kill; the injured party is often permanently affected. The scar often remains. One of the most frequent injuries I encounter in the ministry is people damaged by fiery, furious words. I cannot begin to count the number of persons whose faith has been shaken and almost destroyed because of something another Christian has said to them or about them. I’ve seen strong men reduced to weakness, bubbly women reduce to a bundle of nerves – all because someone let loose with a barrage of words. And words, like an arrow, once released can never be recalled. In fact, the words live on forever. Early in America’s space program, the astronauts radioed NASA to thank them for the wonderful nostalgic music that was coming through the satellite’s sound system. But the people at NASA were stumped as they weren’t beaming any music. Researchers around the world went to work to determine what had had been broadcast at that hour, but nothing checked out. Weeks later it was determined that the particular program the astronauts heard on that day had originally been broadcast in the 1930s! The radio waves were still alive. The words we speak never die – and we never know when they will resurface, just as fatal as before.
All it takes is one or two little words – true or false – to destroy, maim, and kill. Growing up I learned to say, “Sticks and stones will hurt my bones, but names will never hurt (kill) me.” It is nice to have a positive attitude, but I have learned that it is not that simple. I have ministered to too many broken Christians, and have been wounded enough myself, to know words can maim and kill. A talkative woman once tried to justify the quickness of her own tongue by saying, “It passes; it is done with quickly;” to which evangelist Billy Sunday replied, “So does a shotgun blast.” I still vividly recall a hurtful time. Our youngest son had battled headaches for a year and had missed a year of school, most of 6th grade. Finally, after surgery and some counseling he was able to slowly return to activities. His inactivity had left him out of shape and with a little excess weight. He returned to playing soccer – and in one of his first games back the coach sent him in. As he ran onto the field, one of the other parents called out, “No coach. Don’t put him in – he’s too slow!” To this day I don’t know if my son heard those words – I prayed he did not. But I and Barb heard them – and we know what they did to us. The shot gun blast had wounded us. And, by the way, the damage is not limited to those who are the targets of the words – it reaches those who speak them. Proverbs 13:3: “...he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.” A quick tongue damages everyone in its wake.
So what about your tongue? How many words of sarcasm have you uttered this week? How many insinuations have you made? How much blame have you pushed off on others? What about those “jokes” that caused more hurt than laughter? And what about the name-calling you did in jest? Or the gossip you passed along? How have you spoken to your mate, children, parents, coworkers, church leaders and members? Never forget, the words of the tongue can destroy life.
But the same tongue can be a positive instrument – potentially IT BUILDS LIFE. As Paul wrote, in Colossians 4:6, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” The tongue can build life because IT OFFERS GRACE. It used to be said of old sailors, “They use such salty language,” and it was meant as a negative because it was rough, sometimes foul language. But Paul says we are to season our words with the salt of grace. Proverbs 10:32 states: “The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse.” Good people care enough about others to say the right things while other people care only about releasing their venom. As someone said, “The difference between a gossip and a concerned friend is like the difference between a butcher and a surgeon. Both cut the meat, but for different reasons.” How many words of praise have you uttered? How many words of thanks? How much love have you expressed? How much affirmation have you given? Where have you extended grace? Remember the tongue builds life because it offers grace.
And the tongue can build life because IT BENEFITS OTHERS. Listen to some of the Proverbs: (12:25) “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.” (25:11) “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” (10:20) “The tongue of the righteous is choice silver...” Many surgical instruments are made of silver because it is non-corrosive and therefore help heal rather than bring infection. In the same way the tongue can be a healing instrument of love which touches deep inside us. As Paul admonishes the Ephesians and us (Eph. 4:29): “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” My life was deeply impacted by our wonderful choir director-organist at my home church – her endless words of encouragement, even following some of my poorly done solos – always lifted me up and kept me going. The tongue builds life as it offers words of grace and benefits others.
A woman was taken to dinner one night by William E. Gladstone, the distinguished British statesman. The next evening she attended a dinner where she sat next to Benjamin Disraeli, his equally distinguished opponent. Asked her opinion of the two men, she thoughtfully replied, “When I left the dining room after sitting with Mr. Gladstone, I thought he was the cleverest man in England. But after sitting next to Mr. Disraeli, I thought I was the cleverest woman in England.” The tongue builds life as it offers words of grace and benefits others.
Two Proverbs summarize the potential of the tongue: (12:18) “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” (15:1) “A gentle answer turns away wrath but a harsh word turns up anger.” How salty is your language? So far this year, if someone had paid you ten dollars for every kind word you have spoken about other people, and also collected five dollars for every unkind word, would your balance be positive or negative? Your tongue has great potential; be careful how you use it.
How do we get control of what we say and how we say it? How do we control THE POWER OF THE TONGUE? The Bible makes it very clear. James 3:9-12: “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 praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.” THE SOURCE IS REPLICATION. James said it happens in nature and in us. God established this in Genesis when he made all things reproduce “according to their kind.” Jesus put it this way (Lk. 6:443-44): “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers.” THINGS REPRODUCE ACCORDING TO THEIR KIND. What comes from our tongue is but a reproduction of something else. Our words originate somewhere other than the tongue; the tongue is only the vehicle.
The truth is that words are simply windows through which we see our hearts. Just as a physician looks at a patient’s tongue as a gage of the body’s condition, so our tongues are gages of our hearts. So, to produce salty language, THE SOLUTION IS THE HEART. (Lk. 6:45) “The good man brings good things out of the evil stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” We can only tame our tongues when we clean our hearts. It does no good to pour perfume in a stinking river - it may cure the smell for a short time, but it does not treat the source of the pollution. Aluminum siding cannot prevent the wood underneath from rotting. We must treat the source. We must purify our hearts.
ONLY THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN CHANGE US. Only he can make all things new. Jesus told us that out of our hearts can flow living water, bringing life and refreshment; but only if we let the Holy Spirit have control! We must bring our hearts under the captivity of Jesus Christ; let the Holy Spirit speak to us before we speak to others. As Beth Day wrote back in 1855, we must always ask three questions before we speak: Is it true? Is it needful? Is it kind? And to that I would add a fourth: Is it of God? William Norris has penned it cleverly:
If your lips would keep from slips,
Five things observe with care:
To whom you speak; of whom you speak;
And how, and when, and where.
Our tongues set the temperature of life within us and around us. Our tongues are like drugs – they are at once potentially dangerous and helpful. The tongue is both a blessing and a curse. It can speak fair or foul, grace or guile, help or hurt. Remember that Jesus said (Matthew 12:37) that our words either justify or condemn us. So I ask you again, “How salty is your language?” Let Isaiah the prophet challenge us this morning. When he was in the temple and confronted by God in all His glory he prayed, “Woe to me! ...I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips...” Then he confessed; then he was forgiven; then he was transformed. And he went forth and spoke mightily for God. That is the pattern for us. Seek forgiveness this morning for the damage caused by your tongue; seek grace to forgive those who have wounded you through their words. Seek renewal in the depths of your heart. Then your tongue will be an instrument of life. With the Psalmist we need to pray (141:3-4): “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil...”
