EXTREME MAKEOVER: PIERCED TONGUE
James 3:1-12
April 25, 2003
Introduction:
This morning we will be continuing our study of the book of James titled “Extreme Makeover.” We have already learned that if Jesus were to do an extreme makeover of our lives he would give us big ears so that we could hear His word. Next we saw that He would give us dirty hands as we learned to work out our faith.
Today we will be looking at a part of the body that is not often dealt with on makeover shows - the tongue. When the mouth is looked at on the TV program Extreme Makeover it is usually the teeth that are being made over. On last week’s program a young man from right here in Colorado Springs had some serious dental surgery - something like 6 root canals followed by lot of caps - in order to give him a more attractive smile. But once again we see that we are obsessed about all the wrong things. As nice as it is to have a good smile, that is only cosmetic. God is concerned about something much deeper. When Jesus turns his attention to our mouths it is our tongues that he is interested in. He is interested in how we use our tongue - our speech. If Jesus were to give you an Extreme Makeover this morning he would pierce your tongue. Not for the reasons that people pierce their tongues today. Not as a showcase for jewelry. He would pierce your tongue to bring it under control.
This is so important because James’ thesis is that if we can control our tongue then we can control our whole body - our whole life. The problem is that James goes on to say later that no man is capable of controlling or taming the tongue.
I read a story once about a little frog that wanted to go south for the winter. It was too far to hop and he did not have wings to fly. Two Little birds felt sorry for the little frog and together they came up with a plan. The little birds would hold each end of a stick in their beaks, and all the frog would have to do was to clamp down on the stick with his mouth and hold on.
The sky was clear and everything seemed hopeful for the little frog. Two farmers were standing in a field and saw the little birds carrying the frog and one said to the other, "That was a brilliant idea, I wonder who came up with the plan." The little frog couldn’t keep his mouth shut and He said, “I-I-I-I-I-I”. (Robert Travis/SermonCentral) All he had to was to keep his mouth shut. His life depended on it. But he could not do it. Have you ever felt like that?
A wise man once said, “I have often regretted my speech, never my silence.” If you have ever regretted your speech, then this makeover is for you. Will you let Jesus’ pierce your tongue and bring it under his control? If you are willing, then James will teach us how to TAME the tongue.
How to TAME the Tongue:
T - Take It Seriously.
Unfortunately, we have a tendency to not take our speech as seriously as we should. We say things like: “Oh, its just mere words.” Or the little rhyme: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” It is a cute poem, but it is bad theology. Our words do have real power and therefore, real consequences.
In the first couple of verses James teaches us about the importance of the tongue.
The Importance of the Tongue
1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
James begins by warning us that we shouldn’t presume to be teachers. Or as Moffatt translates it: “Do not crowd in to be teachers.” The Greek construction is such that it implies that many of the people were trying to get into teaching positions. It is interesting to note that we seem to have the exact opposite problem today. It is usually difficult to find someone willing to teach a Bible class. However, in James’ day this was a coveted position and many were interested in getting it - probably for the prestige.
What does this have to do with the importance of the tongue? The purpose of teaching to influence students toward the truth. And the teachers primary instrument in teaching is the tongue - speech. In this case the teachers are to be teaching the Word of God - the content of the Christian faith. This is literally a matter of eternal life and death. For such a weighty matter as this, there are heavy consequences. Those who teach will be judged more strictly. The KJV rendering of “condemnation” is unfortunate. James is not saying that all teachers will receive great condemnation. If that were the case, who would want to be a teacher? The Greek word (krima) used here refers to the decision of a judge, whether it be favorable or unfavorable. James is saying that those who teach well will receive a great commendation, but those who teach wrong will receive a great condemnation. Matthew 18:6-7 warns us of the dangers of leading those we teach into sin. “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
Because the consequences of using our tongues in teaching are so important this is something that we need to take seriously. And we need to take it seriously whether we are teachers or not because our words still make an impact on others.
Let me give you a few examples of the importance of accurate communication:
• When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as here in the USA--with the cute baby on the label. Later they found out that in Africa companies routinely put pictures on the label of what is inside since most people can not read.
• When Coca-Cola first shipped to China, they named the product something that when pronounced sounded like "Coca-Cola." The only problem was that the characters used meant "Bite The Wax Tadpole." They later changed to a set of characters that mean "Happiness In The Mouth."
• When Pepsi started marketing its products in China a few years back, they translated their slogan, "Pepsi Brings You Back to Life" pretty literally. The slogan in Chinese really meant, "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave."
• Coors put its slogan, "Turn It Loose," into Spanish, where it was read as "Suffer From Diarrhea."
• The Chevy Nova never sold well in Spanish speaking countries. "No Va" means "It Does Not Go" in Spanish. (Steven Simla Grant/SermonCentral) The need for effective communication is so important that we must take it seriously. We have far more at stake than simply the loss of money like these companies.
James also gives another warning against rushing in to be teachers. He says, “We all stumble in many ways.” By the use of the word ‘we’ he includes himself in this category. We as human beings are susceptible to failure - to falling - and so we need to take this matter seriously. If we are careless, we are sure to stumble and fall. And if you are always stumbling you will not be able to adequately lead others down the right path.
James highlights the importance of the tongue by what he says next. He says that if you never stumble in your speech then you are perfect and you are able to control your whole life. If you can control the tongue, you can control everything else. If you can’t control the tongue, you won’t be able to control anything else.
The Greek word used for “keep ... in check” literally means ‘bridled.’ This same word is used in 1:26 - “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” If you can’t control your tongue, you can’t control your life and your religion is worthless. Are you starting to grasp the importance of the tongue? It is time to start taking it seriously.
A - Always Use It Carefully.
Do you remember the song that we all learned as children in Sunday School? “Be careful little tongue what you say. Be careful little tongue what you say. The Father up above is looking down in love so be careful little tongue what you say.” You learned it, but have you lived it? We need to use our tongues carefully because they have tremendous influence.
The Influence of the Tongue
3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or 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. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The 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.
The Greek word for ‘bit’ is another form of the word translated “keep...in check.” Just as a small bit can turn a horse and just as a small rudder can direct a large ship so a small organ- the tongue- can control a person. Do not be deceived the tongue’s influence is not in proportion to its size. So it can make great boasts and these boasts are not empty claims. The tongue can back them up because of its great influence.
You are probably familiar with Karen Carpenter, the popular singer from the seventies who died in 1983 of heart failure. Most people know that her heart attack was caused by anorexia. Basically, she starved herself to death. But what started it all? According to a 1988 CBS television movie, the "Karen Carpenter Story," her "fatal obsession with weight" began when a reviewer called her Richard’s "chubby sister". That little phrase was all it took to start her on a tragic journey of self-destruction. Now, obviously, she was a troubled woman to begin with. The author of that article didn’t cause her underlying psychological problems; he almost certainly had no intention of causing her harm. Nevertheless, those few words had a profound influence on her life. Reference: USA Today, December 30, 1988, "Carpenter Story sings a familiar refrain," by Matt Roush. Citation: Proverbs 18:21, NIV. (Alan Perkins/SermonCentral) You may never know the influence that your words have on those who hear them so use your tongue carefully.
In the Jewish tradition our words take on being - reality or existence - when spoken and cannot be revoked. An example of this is when Isaac was tricked into blessing his youngest son Jacob with the blessing that he had intended for his oldest son, Esau. Even though he realized what had happened it was too late. There was no way for him to take back the blessing from Jacob and give it to Esau. The words had been spoken and they could not be taken back. Remember that and think before you speak carelessly. You can say that you are sorry, but you can’t take back what was said.
Although the tongue has great power we can begin to see how the tongue may be able to be controlled in these verses. The tongue is compared to a bit and to a rudder which respectively can control horses and ships. But we also see that the bit and the rudder are controlled by something else. They don’t have minds and wills of their own. The bit doesn’t make the horse go where the bit wants it to go. We put the bit in the horses mouth in order to make the horse obey us. Likewise, the rudder doesn’t direct the ship wherever the rudder wants to go. Rather the pilot uses the rudder to steer the ship wherever the pilot wants to go. We see then that the tongue is meant to be a instrument or a tool that is used to direct our lives. The question is who is using the tool? Who has control of the instrument? So there is more to the issue of influence than simply how is the tongue influencing us, but also who is influencing the tongue to influence us?
Now we get to the heart of the real problem. The tongue is influenced by evil. The tongue is “a world of evil.” The tongue is “set on fire by hell.” So we see then that the tongue is influenced by evil to influence us in sinful direction - “It corrupts the whole person.” The same Greek root for “corrupts” is used in 1:27 were is is rendered “polluted.” “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: ... to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Satan is trying to influence our tongues to corrupts us and thereby render our religion unacceptable to God. Satan is trying to influence our words in such a way as to destroy our spiritual lives.
How can we be destroyed by our words? Listen to what Jesus taught in Matthew 12:36-37, “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.” Let me tell you, Satan is working overtime to make sure that on the day of judgment you are condemned by your words. Do you still think that words will never hurt you?
I found a humorous account of how God and Satan are trying to influence us.
God populated the earth with broccoli & cauliflower & spinach, green & yellow vegetables of all kinds, so Man & Woman would live long & healthy lives.
Then Satan created McDonald’s.
And McDonald’s brought forth the 99-cent double-cheeseburger.
Then Satan said to Man, "You want fries with that?"
And Man said, "Super-size them." And Man gained pounds.
God created healthful yogurt so woman might keep her figure that man found so fair.
Then Satan brought forth chocolate. And woman gained pounds.
God said, "Try my crispy fresh salad."
Then Satan brought forth ice cream. And woman gained more pounds.
God said, "I have sent your heart healthy vegetables & olive oil with which to cook them."
Then Satan brought forth chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter.
And Man gained pounds & his bad cholesterol went through the roof.
So God brought forth running shoes & Man resolved to lose those extra pounds.
Then Satan brought forth cable TV with remote control so Man would not have to toil to change channels. And Man gained even more pounds.
God brought forth the potato, a vegetable naturally low in fat & brimming with nutrition.
Then Satan peeled off the healthful skin & sliced the starchy center into chips & deep-fat fried them. And he created sour cream dip also.
And Man clutched his remote control & ate the potato chips soaked in cholesterol.
Satan saw it & said, "It is good." And Man went into cardiac arrest.
God sighed, & created quadruple bypass heart surgery.
Then Satan created HMO’s.
(Adapted from www.mamarocks.com) (Melvin Newland/SermonCentral)
So who are you going to allow to influence you? If you are going to use your tongue carefully you will need to do the next step.
M - Make Sure To Ask For Help.
If you are going to use your tongue carefully and keep it under control, you are going to need some help because the next couple of verses show us that it is impossible for man to do this by himself.
The Impotence of Mankind
7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
From the time of creation it was man’s divinely appointed position to have dominion over the animals. “Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:28) Although he has retained dominion over the animals Tasker says, “Because of the fall man has lost dominion over himself.” Because of the fall into sin we have lost the ability to rule ourselves. We have become slaves to sin. It is interesting to note what caused the fall since we are talking about the importance of and power of words. We see that the fall was instigated by false words. Genesis 3:1, “The serpent ... said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” This should stand as a warning to the power of misused words.
Because of the fall we have lost dominion of ourselves and no longer have the ability to tame the tongue. The Greek word that is here translated “tame” is used in Mark 5:4 where it is rendered “subdue.” Jesus and his disciples had gone by boat to the land of Gardara. Upon their arrival they had a confrontation with a man who was possessed by a legion - a multitude - of demons. “This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him.” (Mk. 5:3-4) Because of the influence of Satan upon this man no one could subdue him. Because of the influence of Satan upon the tongue no man can tame it. However, when Jesus came He drove the demon out of the man and then, free from the inner influence of Satan, he was “in his right mind” once more. Jesus has the power to do what man is powerless to do. This is why we need to ask for help. We cannot do it alone, but Jesus can.
James says the tongue is a restless evil. The word “restless” is literally ‘unsettled’ or ‘vacillating.’ It is rendered in 1:8 as “unstable.” The picture is of a snake that is agitated and about to strike sending it’s venom into it’s victim. This simply speaks of the deadly destructive power of the tongue if it is not brought under control. Since we cannot do this by ourselves, we must ask God for his help. I want to share with you a prayer I found: “Dear God, so far today I’ve done alright, I haven’t gossiped, lost my temper, been nasty, or selfish or over indulgent. But in a few minutes God, I’m going to get out of bed and from then on, I’m going to need all the help I can get.” (Owen Bourgaize/SermonCentral). It is true. We can do pretty well while we are in bed with the covers over our head. But when we get out into the day we need all the help that we can get and this is especially true when it comes to managing our mouths.
If you saw the movie with Tom Hanks entitled Cast Away, you know who Wilson is. Wilson is a volleyball which floated ashore in a package after the FedEx plane, in which Hanks was riding, crashed into the sea during a bad storm. Hanks plays Chuck Noland, a fast-paced FedEx executive who gets stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific after his plane crashes, with little chance for survival. In trying to survive, he tries to start a fire with a sharp stick and cuts his hand severely. In anger, he takes the volleyball and throws it as hard as he can. When it lands he sees that his bloody hand has made an imprint which looks like a fiery head. With his finger he fashions a face in the blood — an idol, if you will. He talks to his new friend. You could even say he prays to Wilson as he attempts to make a fire. All through the film he communicates with this volleyball, asking his help and currying his friendship. The interesting thing is that nowhere in the film does Tom Hanks every talk to God. He prays to the volleyball, but never to God. Now, you have to ask yourself why he has more trust in a volleyball than God. But then you have to ask why other people trust in all kinds of things rather than God. We will talk to our friends. We will call Dr. Laura. We will watch Dr. Phil. We will read the latest self-help book. (Rodney Buchanan/SermonCentral) It would seem that we have more trust in self-help than God’s help. But as James has pointed out this problem is to big for self-help. Self-help doesn’t cut it. You may have noticed that there is always another self-help book coming out on the market. If they worked, why do we keep needing more and more of them? We can be sure that God works. He wrote the Bible and he has never needed to write another one because it works.
E - Examine The Source.
In order to understand the scope of our problem we need to examine the source of our problem. The source of the problem is more than just the influence of Satan as we have already discussed. There is more to it. The source of our problem is found in the nature of man or in the state of our hearts. To change who we are at the core of our being will require the involvement of God.
The Inconsistency of Mankind
9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Clearly there is a serious inconsistency in praising God and cursing men who are in the image of God. Genesis 1:27 says, “God created man in his own image.” It is inconsistent for the same mouth to spew out both praise and cursing. The Greek for “praise” is literally ‘blessing.’ Out of the same mouth should not come blessing and cursing. This is inconsistent. James says this should not be the case.
We have already seen that the tongue “is a restless evil.” The same Greek word translated as “restless” is translated as “unstable” in 1:8 - “He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” Now we see the reason for the inconsistency. Such a person is “double-minded.” The Greek literally means “two-souled.” This person literally has two natures warring within for supremacy. If you are inconsistent in nature, you will surely be inconsistent in your actions as well. James says, “My brothers, this should not be.” The use of the phrase “my brothers” shows that James his speaking of believers here. So this is not the condition of the unsaved, but of the believer. And yet James says that this is not the way things should be - further transformation is needed.
James gives the illustrations of a spring of water and a plant. He says that two different kinds of water can’t flow from the same spring. He also says that two different kinds of fruit cannot come from the same plant. Here we see not only the unnaturalness of the inconsistency, but also the solution to the inconsistency. The solution is to have a singular source. Just as one spring produces one kind of water and one plant produces one type of fruit so one nature will produce one type of behavior.
The word “salt” can also be translated as ‘bitter.’ And the word “fresh” can also be translated as ‘sweet.’ How can a bitter soul become a sweet soul? How can a bitter spring produce sweet water? Has such a thing ever happened before? Yes! During the Exodus when the children of Israel left Egypt they came to a place called Marah. “When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter ... Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.” (Exodus 15:23-24) Just as it is possible only for God to turn bitter water into sweet water so only God can transform a bitter soul into a sweet soul. Just as the wood made the bitter water sweet so Jesus died on the wood of a tree to make our bitter souls sweet. “Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.” (Hebrews 13:12). Now a holy soul is a consistent soul. And that is how it should be.
The tongue of a man is governed by the nature of a man and so only by having the nature transformed can the tongue be brought under control. Remember that the rudder steered the ship wherever the pilot “wanted” it to go. Only by having your nature changed can you have your will changed. When your will has been changed then you will use your tongue to steer yourself and others in the right direction. It is as Jesus said in Matthew 12:34-35, “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”
Douglas Coupland, who coined the term ’Generation X’, concludes in his book Life After God, "my secret is that I need God - that I am sick and can no longer make it alone. I need God to help me give, because I no longer seem to be capable of giving; to help me be kind, as I no longer seem to be capable of kindness; to help me love, as I seem beyond being able to love." (Andrew Hamilton/SermonCentral) Those who are sick in their souls need God for only God can heal the sickness of their souls and give them holiness of heart.
Conclusion:
Because of the destructive nature of the tongue, we ignore it to our own detriment. During the Revolutionary War, a loyalist spy appeared at the headquarters of Hessian commander Colonel Johann Rall, carrying an urgent message. General George Washington and his Continental army had secretly crossed the Delaware River that morning and were advancing on Trenton, New Jersey where the Hessians were encamped. The spy was denied an audience with the commander and instead wrote his message on a piece of paper. A porter took the note to the Hessian colonel, but because Rall was involved in a poker game he stuffed the unread note into his pocket. When the guards at the Hessian camp began firing their muskets in a futile attempt to stop Washington’s army, Rall was still playing cards. Without time to organize, the Hessian army was captured. The battle occurred the day after Christmas, 1776, giving the colonists a late present—their first major victory of the war. (Today in the Word, MBI, October, 1991, p. 21) The colonel’s army was destroyed because he ignored the word of warning. Will you ignore James’ word of warning this morning? Will you allow God to pierce your tongue and bring it under his control?
If you will heed this warning, then call out to God in prayer. Confess to him your need and ask him to change your heart and bring the power of your tongue under his control. Now we understand why James said that if we could control the tongue we could control our whole life. Because it requires a change of heart which will impact every area of our lives. Who would have thought that getting your tongue pierced could be so important?
Please email me if you use this sermon or a revision of it. Thank you!
steveamanda8297@hotmail.com
