Show me your faith #8

TAMING THE TERRIBLE TONGUE

James has already addressed the trouble with our tongues in his letter, but given the chronic problem that is the tongue he returns to this theme to hammer it home. We have trouble learning this lesson. Though as believers we have been made new in Christ, the battle with the sinful nature is ongoing. The tongue is a huge part of this battle.

            This battle to hold the tongue in check is well-illustrated in a story I read this week:

            A kindergarten teacher was helping one of her students put on his cowboy boots. He asked for help and she could see why. Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots still didn’t want to go on. Finally, when the second boot was on, she had worked up a sweat. She almost cried when the little boy said, "Teacher, they’re on the wrong feet." She looked down and sure enough, they were.

            It wasn’t any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. But she managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on - this time on the right feet. And it was only then that he announced, "These aren’t my boots."

            She bit her tongue rather than scream, "Why didn’t you say so?" like she wanted to. And, once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet. No sooner had they got the boots off then he said, "They’re my brother’s boots. My Mom made me wear ’em today."

            Stifling a scream, she mustered up the grace and courage she had left to wrestle the ill-fitting boots on his feet again. Helping him into his coat, she asked, "Now, where are your mittens?"

            To which he replied, "I stuffed ’em in the toes of my boots."

            Taming the terrible tongue is a must for followers of Christ since we know that the tongue has the power to do good or great harm in spite of its small size. Pastor James is very insightful in his address of the tongue. He does not give us advice on how to control the tongue but paints vivid pictures for us to see how serious the problem of the tongue can be.

            To tame the tongue we need to recognize four things:

1. We will all be held to account for what we say

I am reminded of the U.S. Miranda rights read to a criminal at his arrest, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…” We cannot remain silent all our lives but we should know, as James tells us, that what we say is being noted by God.

            James begins this warning by addressing those who would be teachers. For it seems that in his day as in ours to be a teacher in the church is to hold a position of respect and some authority. If you want to be noticed and make an impact, be a teacher. James, however, warns that to be a teacher means that our words will be judged more strictly. But by who?

            First, by our students. Jesus chastised the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees because they like to be revered as experts in all things. But Jesus said, “…do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach,” (Mt 23:3).

            Katy has a regular habit of quoting something I have said but which I do not remember saying. I can tell it’s annoying for her because I can say things with authority and then she quotes me like Scripture. Between you and me I think she’s quoting someone else. It does remind me that I have to watch what I say and, more importantly, do what I say I will do.

            Second, we will be judged by God who is the author of what we teach. And remember, James has already exhorted us to not just be hearers of the Word but doers also. This coincides with what Jesus said earlier.

            But, you say, I’m not a teacher, so this does not apply to me. No, you may not be a teacher, but James quickly expands the scope of who he is addressing about the problem of the tongue. He began this section by saying, “Not many of you…” and then said, “We ALL stumble in many ways. ANYONE who is never at fault in what they say is perfect…” So his target is ALL believers since ALL of us have trouble with the tongue. And we ALL will be held to account for what we say.

2. We all have the power in our tongue to speak well

The power of the tongue is amazing. James uses two analogies to show us the positive power of the tongue.

            Beginning in v. 2 the Greek word for “bridle” is hidden in the English, but it comes out in v. 3 again. A little bit of steel, weighing what? A quarter of a pound? Together with leather reins controls a 1200 pound horse. One thing I have learned from riding a horse is that it lacks the power to read my mind. I have to control it with this tiny bit in its mouth to make it go where I want to go. At any moment this beast could decide to roll over on me or go its own way…fast.

            Secondly, James illustrates the power of a small rudder on a huge ship. The wind blows where it wants to and sailing ships are at the mercy of the wind and waves. Yet with a rudder you can control the direction of the ship.

            What James is showing is not so much the control of the tongue on the body but the size of it in comparison with the whole. A tiny bit – a large horse; a small rudder – a huge ship; a 6 ounce appendage – a 170 pound person. In proportion to its size the tongue has a powerful influence.

            James wraps up his analogies with a short observation: “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts,” (3:5a). Boasting is normally thought of as negative, but Paul told the Corinthians that he boasts all the time. Paul did not boast in himself but in what the Lord had done through his ministry. He even boasted in his weakness because then God could show his strength. So boasting in this sense is praise to God.

            Without the tongue how would we praise God? How could we worship him and testify to the power of God in our lives if not for the tongue?

            And the tongue can direct a life. By what we say we can encourage people to do great things. Just as the bit directs the horse, the rudder the ship, the tongue can direct the life – yours and the life of others. You can make someone’s day by saying something positive.

3. We all have the power in our tongue to speak ill

James uses two more analogies to show us the negative power of the tongue.

            The first is the power of the spark to set a whole forest on fire. If you think of the fires that raged in Southern California a few years ago you will remember how millions of dollars worth of homes and thousands of people were devastated by that fire. And someone set that fire on purpose. Fire in the right hands can be a useful tool, but in the wrong hands it is destructive. So goes the tongue.

            James wrote that, “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell,” (3:6). James' phrase "(the tongue) is set on fire by hell," is provocative. His word for hell is Gehenna, Jerusalem's garbage dump, a fitting metaphor for hell in those days, associated as it was with impurity, corruption, fumes and stench, a place ruled by Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies-the source of the filth that so readily rolls off our tongues.

            The second analogy comes from the animal kingdom. James says that all kinds of creatures can be tamed and brought under our power. Killer whales at Sea World, elephants in a circus, even dogs in a home can be taught the rules of where to defecate. But the tongue? “…no human being can tame the tongue,” (3:8a). Every other living thing has been domesticated, or dominated by the human race, but the human tongue cannot be captured, caged or killed. It is a restless, vicious, incorrigible, feral thing that cannot be controlled-at least it cannot be controlled by "man."

            Note that…”by man.” What James does not say is very telling. What he infers is that humankind cannot control the tongue and therefore we need God’s help to control it. This tongue has the power to destroy a life. How many women have heard from their husbands how useless they are? How they wish they had never been born? Some women are abused physically and that’s horrible, but the verbal abuse can lead some to take their lives because they began to believe they were as bad as others said they were.

            In a less traumatic but equally disturbing sense, words are exchanged right here in the church that are from the pit of hell and have the power to destroy the spirit of a servant. Brothers and sisters, we should not talk to each other like that.

4. We must consider the source of our inconsistent use of the tongue

When someone consistently has negative things to say about a matter what is our collective response? Consider the source. That is not a label I would want affixed to my opinion.

            Why is our tongue such an inconsistent source of speech? James wrote, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be,” (3:9-10).

            To bless, where we praise God, is the highest, purest, most noble form of speech. The lowest, filthiest, most ignoble form of speech is cursing. A curse was seen in the ancient world as having great power. To curse someone is not swearing at them but actually desiring that they be cut off from God. Jesus told his disciples not to curse others but “to bless those who curse you.”   

             You know that hymn, “Rock of ages”? It’s a beautiful Biblical tribute to Christ and his finished work of redemption. Yet the man who wrote it, Augustus Toplady, when he was 30, cursed John Wesley, who was in his 70s, saying, “He is a lurking assassin, guilty of audacity and falsehood; a knave, guilty of mean, malicious impotence. He is an Ishmaelite, a bigot, a papist, a defamer, a reviler, a liar, without the honesty of a heathen, and impudent slanderer; with satanic guilt only exceeded by Satan himself, if even by him. He is an echo of Satan.” Isn’t that the most absurd thing you have ever heard?

            How can cursing and blessing come from the same mouth? James asks, “Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? …can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?” (3:11-12). NO, NO, NO, is the answer that does not need to be said.

            Consider the source, we say. Where does this tongue of cursing in us come from? Well, from within us.

            Jesus was talking to the Pharisees when he explained the source of evil coming from their lips, but it could apply to us as well. He said, “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.  A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned,” (Mt 12:34-37).

            The mouth speaks what the heart is full of…that is the source of our terrible tongue. If you want to tame the terrible tongue, the place to start is with your heart. If your thoughts were exposed so that everything you thought you also spoke, would you be embarrassed? Am I really glad to meet you? Does your long story really interest me?

            What is in your heart? You can hide it for a while but eventually comes bubbling out over your tongue.

Show me your faith

James does not give us details of how the tongue corrupts but he probably had a few passages from Proverbs in mind:

·         Thoughtless chattering (Prov 10:8; 12:18; 29:20)

·         Lying (12:19)

·         Arrogant boasting (18:12)

·         Gossiping (10:18)

Words have the power to heal or to hurt. Here’s a test: Could you go 24 hours without saying unkind words about, or to, anybody? Who here thinks they can do this?

            If you cannot answer ‘yes’ you may have a serious problem. If a person cannot go 24 hours without an alcoholic drink, you are addicted to alcohol. If a person cannot go 24 hours without smoking, you are addicted to nicotine. In the same way, if you cannot go 24 hours without saying unkind words about others, then you have lost control over your tongue.

            When Jesus confronted a crowd about to stone an adulterous woman, he said, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.” One by one they walked away because they knew that they could not lift a finger against her.

            Just so, words are like stones that leave bruises on our hearts. Here are some rocks. I encourage you to take a stone and put it in your pocket. Anytime you feel like criticizing someone or berating them or talking behind their back, reach into your pocket and ask if you are without sin. Are you perfect? Do you want to be criticized?

            No man can tame the tongue. But with the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we can begin to bring it under the sovereign power of God to work for him.

                                                                                    AMEN