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JAMES - Be Doers of the Word, and not Hearers Only
Studies in the Letter of James (by Dr. Richard Thomas)

Chapter III

Misusing the Tongue (James 3:1-12)


JAMES 3:1-12
1 Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment. 2 For in many things we all stumble. If anyone doesn’t stumble in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also. 3 Indeed, we put bits into the horses’ mouths so that they may obey us, and we guide their whole body. 4 Behold, the ships also, though they are so big and are driven by fierce winds, are yet guided by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot desires. 5 So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest! 6 And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna. 7 For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and thing in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the image of God. 10 Out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring send out from the same opening fresh and bitter water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, yield olives, or a vine figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh water.

For some men and women the handling of words is their main occupation: Politicians, shop stewards, disc jockeys, preachers and teachers. These people manipulate words to express thought or conceal it, to win friends and influence people. Reputations rise and fall on the basis of the impact made by speeches, programmes and sermons. Words are the only tools many such ‘workmen’ use (2 Timothy 2:14). James is now addressing teachers and prospective teachers, but his warning holds good for anyone with the gift of speech who is concerned about the risks involved in advancing his own interest or God’s cause (1). The Lord has placed that marvellous instrument, the tongue, at our disposal; it ought to be our aim in speech not to waste words, not to twist words and not to inflict pain with words.

“Let not many of you become teachers”: Another gentle exhortation from an apostle who knew the rigors of self-discipline. The teacher holds a position of leadership in the church alongside the apostle and prophet (1 Corinthians 12:27). Apostles are often away on a mission. Prophets too used to travel distances; when ‘at home’ they would wait on the Spirit for the occasional prophecy. Teachers are on the spot and everywhere, keeping watch over the flock, ministering to spiritual needs and expounding the teaching of the Church. Members of Christ’s body look to them for moral leadership and theological guidance. Not only is there a demand for teachers, but also apparently a constant supply.

Christ, Himself, was apostle, prophet and teacher (Hebrew 3:1). For that reason if for no other the status of the Christian teacher must be regarded as an exalted one. Moreover, Scripture urges to esteem our spiritual leaders, and this should further enhance the prestige of the teacher-leader. To seek the office of teacher merely for its status is surely unworthy and may turn out to be disastrous (1 Timothy 3:7; Titus 1:9). High spiritual and moral qualities count as proper qualifications; but a sense of divine call is indispensable. No man takes this honour upon himself unless God calls him (Hebrew 5:4). Aaron, whom this text is meant to illustrate, was not perfect, nor did he possess the abilities of his brother, Moses, yet God called him to a specific task of leadership.

The severity of God’s judgment on self-appointed teachers should cause men to think twice before nominating themselves for the office. Calvin is scathing in his denunciation of those who have attained the status but failed the subsequent tests: “Few have the skill and influence, many rush in and confuse us with learning; few feel any interest in the cure of souls, many are prompted by hypocrisy”.

All this sounds most discouraging for those who aspire to positions of leadership and influence in the church. James’s words must be balanced by other considerations. Did not our Lord draw attention to the rich harvest and the dearth of labourers (Matthew 9:37)? Did he not send us out to teach all nations, and are there not many more teachers needed for extending the scope of theological education the world over (Matthew 28:20). We need wisdom from on high to arrive at the right decision, to be or not to be a teacher, that wisdom for which we were exhorted to pray in 1:5 and which will be qualified and described later in this chapter.

Don’t be a teacher unless you are sure the Lord has called you, and unless you have estimated the risks of heavier judgment. Once you have decided to become a teacher, follow the advice James gives about the tongue, and Paul’s counsel on seasoning speech with salt, and sweetening it with graciousness (Colossians 4:6).

There are various ways of treating the passage that follows. One commentator applies it to censorious self-satisfied teachers, another links it to the warning recorded in 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 against the confusion caused by men and women preachers all trying to have their say at the same time. It might be more helpful if we consider the perils of the tongue in action without singling out any particular group of speakers.

“All of us often go wrong” (2). A large part of our mistakes are connected with the tongue. Indeed many errors of judgment and perversions of thought world lie concealed were they not revealed by statements we deliberately or unguardedly make. Already James has advised us to be slow to speak (1:19); not to rush in with a torrent of words abusing others and excusing ourselves. Nor is he specially concerned with talkative women or men, for what these people say is often quite harmless. Those with the sharpest tongues frequently choose words with care, are witty and sarcastic.

Speech is silver, silence is golden. Restraint in speech is still more valuable, since it combines the power of words with the virtues that strong silent men display. “If you wish to be perfect”, says James, ”begin with the tongue”. One who is able to discipline his tongue has an excellent prospect of disciplining his whole being (26). There are various degrees of perfection and there is growth in perfection (Hebrew 5:8,9). The perfection of an artist or violinist differs from that displayed by a tennis ace or a stylist. The Holy Spirit who gives us the right words in an emergency, and prays through us when we are led by Him is the source of this perfection in utterance.

In four consecutive verses (3,4,5,6) James uses three metaphors for the tongue and establishes the figurative connection. The tongue like a bit (3), a rudder (4), a fire (6). Bit and rudder remind us that we are capable of mastering over our tongues by self-discipline, so as to use these more profitably. Fire recalls the menace of the tongue when put to evil uses. Someone has described it as follows: “A sharp tongue is the only edged tool which grows sharper with constant use”.

The wild spirit of a horse can be tamed and brought around by the will of a rider using the bit. James remembers the storms on the Galilean sea and the Mediterranean (Nazareth is close to both): In spite of its bulk and the gale force of the winds, a ship can be directed by the pilot turning a small rudder. So too the tongue can accomplish great things when under proper control. The only sure way of keeping the tongue in check and yet bringing out its potential is to allow the Master-pilot (as it were) to take charge. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, o Lord” (Psalm 19:14). Yet ought we not pray daily and with sincerity, “Make the words of my mouth acceptable to thee, O Lord”.

“How great a forest a little fire kindles” (5). Disastrous forest fires have recently been in the news, to remind us of the far-reaching mischief resulting from a simple and single cause. The carelessness of a camping party or the deliberate wickedness of a sick mind can lead to a conflagration that may keep a company of men busy for a week. A shot was fired at Sarajevo and a man killed. The assassination set off a series of chain reactions amongst surrounding nations and distant ones as well. Eventually the whole world was ablaze in a murderous conflict that shattered mankind’s optimistic illusions forever.

The tongue at its worst (and alas it is often at its worst) may be compared to the seemingly insignificant cause of a great conflagration. We are told it is a world of iniquity, a cosmos. The universe is the all-embracing cosmos, our world an insignificant cosmos in relation to all that lies beyond. Man is a microcosm who could be viewed as negligible and yet stands as the crown of creation. Lastly we have ‘tongue’, a tiny microcosmos, dependent on the rest of the own body. Yet it is able to move men, drive them to destruction as dictators managed to do. Gas and electricity can be turned off at will, but the fires they cause are frequently beyond control.

Thomas Edison once attended a dinner in his honour. He listened patiently and indulgently while the toastmaster went on and on listing the famous inventions of that eminent scientist, dwelling particularly on the talking machine. Eventually the aged inventor rose, smiled gently at his admirer and said, “I thank the gentleman for his kind remarks, but I insist on a correction. God invented the first talking machine, I only invented the first one that can be shut off”.

“It catches fire from hell” (6). Limitless fuel is available to keep the tongue going on its destructive course. Lions can be tamed, snakes charmed and monkeys trained to do tricks. You cannot tame or curb another person’s tongue; but you can tame and control your own. The last fruit of the Holy Spirit to be listed in Galatians 5:23 is temperance or self-control. An essential part of self-control is bridling the tongue. Three pretexts for lashing out with the tongue bring out its hellish nature: (1) As a relief for pent-up emotions; (2) as a gratification for spite; (3) as revenge for injury. With these temptations in mind you ought constantly to pray before you say anything that you wish to sound witty, impressive or devastating: Unguarded allusions, suggestive jokes.

Two reasons come to mind for restraining the flaw of the tongue. Remember the damage and misery it can cause. Years later you will recall the unkind word that sounded so smart at the time, but which caused such bitterness and grief! The other reason is still more weighty and implies a greater condemnation than mere conscience. Our Lord warns us: “I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36). The words are addressed to us all and cover all that we utter wittingly or unguardedly. There are wise words and idle words and in between there are words of ordinary usage. Does God record all the words that have been churned out right round the clock? We are assured by those who know that sound waves are ever lost, but are absorbed into the fabric of the universe and locked in until someone is in a position to release them. The Watergate scandal and the Nixon tapes serve to remind us that our verbal sins will one day find us out. Expletives can never be wholly deleted.

By a monstrous inconsistency we use the tongue to bless God and to curse men. James underlines the incongruity of this effusion with the help of three similes (9,10,11,12), the spring, the fig tree, the vine. In nature each source produces the kind peculiar to it, whether bitter, sweet, sour or salty, in more-or-less uniform shape and consistency. Unhappily the tongue can provide both bitterness and sweetness, can sour relationship or be tasteful. At one extreme it can blaspheme, curse and revile, at the other it can praise, bless and soothe. The tragedy is that selfsame tongue emits all this; it is often the tongue of the religious person that is guilty of such contradictions.

Numerous curses are pronounced in the Old Testament on transgressors of every sort. Three that occur in Jeremiah are worthy of note: “Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant” (11:3); “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man” (17:5); “Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully” (48:10). For good measure Jeremiah curses the day he was born (20:14). The last of these simply reflects the despondent moods that Jeremiah habitually experienced. In the other three the prophet has no particular individual in mind; the curses are statements of consequence. Contravening God’s law, misplaced confidence, hypocrisy or slackness, all have their penalties. In each case the penalty is more vividly expressed as curse.

At all events it is God’s word that lays down the curse; it is His prerogative to withhold blessing, to condemn; the right does not belong to mere men. Jesus Christ who alone among men had that right refrained from going to the length of cursing anyone. Instead He uttered woes on several occasions: against the cities which rejected Him, against persons who cause little ones to stumble, against the one who would betray Him, and most insistently against the scribes and Pharisees who were guilty of all three offences (Matthew 11:21; Luke 17:1-3; Mark 14:21; Matthew 23). That such woes are not to be equated with curses but are deep sentiments of sorrow is clear from Mark 13:17 and Luke 6:26. Indeed our Lord urges us to bless those who curse us, in the hope that God will reverse the curse laid on those who break His laws (Luke 6:28).

James gives us his own powerful reason for not resorting to curses, “men are made in the likeness of God” (9). That image is a spiritual reality, a challenge to those who recognize it, and a fact misjudged by those who forget that the human image has been defaced and distorted by man’s wilful perversity. God wills, so do we; He has mind, so do we, He has feeling, we are creatures of feeling. But whereas He wills what is good, we choose the bad; whereas His thinking is straight, ours is crooked. This much can be said for ‘do-gooders’ who agitate on behalf of evildoers (rapists, murderers, terrorists and the like). They do apparently perceive the dignity of human life. The image is there even though they fail to detect the original. That image can be re-formed and transformed so as to bear the likeness of God’s Son (1 John 3:2).

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