The Heart Of The Matter Series

James—Faith & Works Message 6

The Heart of the Matter

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I think everyone would agree this morning that words matter. And no one probably thinks more about word choice then those who work in marketing. But sometimes, despite their experience and expertise, even marketing professionals miss the mark. Consider the following examples:

• 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.”

• When Pepsi started marketing its products in China several years back, they translated their slogan, “Pepsi Brings You Back to Life” pretty literally. Unfortunately, the slogan in Chinese really meant, “Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave.”

• The Chevy Nova never sold well in Spanish speaking countries. “No Va” means “It Does Not Go” in Spanish.

• Coors put its slogan, “Turn It Loose,” into Spanish, where it was read as “Suffer From Diarrhea.” (Steven Grant/SermonCentral)

And while these are some humorous examples, I think we all have examples where poorly chosen words caused incredibly harm. The old rhyme of “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never harm me” is a catchy tune…but it’s also a lie. Words matter. And if you have yet to be convinced of this, my goal is that by the end of our time together in James 3, you will be deeply convinced. So turn with me there this morning where today will be all about the importance of taming the tongue or managing one’s mouth.

Sometimes in our culture, we look at someone who says whatever they think as someone who is bold or courageous, but James says just the opposite. There is often a sense of pride or bravado for a person who is willing to “tell it like it is” or is a “straight shooter.” But James says, not only are these things not to be esteemed, he says it is a spiritual problem that is both dangerous and has deeper roots than we realize.

James 3:1-12

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Right off the bat, there is a seemingly odd statement in verse 1 when James says that very few people should desire to become teachers. It would seem like in order to get the message out, we need MORE teachers. And that would seem even more important in the New Testament church where they did not have the full Bible yet and the printing press had yet to be invented. And, a little historical fact, their culture was a culture of orality. In other words, truth was passed down and preserved through SPOKEN words and not WRITTEN words. In fact, the shift to written words didn’t happen until Rome destroyed Jerusalem and everyone scattered.

And because you didn’t have the completed Bible yet, you needed to have teachers who could teach and inform others. They needed to be able to teach sound doctrine. They needed to be able to teach about things like sin, church formation, evangelism, how to relate to one another, and even the Trinity. And add this practical reality to the fact that most of the converts to Christianity at this point were Jewish, where being a teacher was a very highly esteemed position. Listen to what one commentator wrote: