James 3.1-12

Think Heavenly about Our Tongue (James 3.1-12)

1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We 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.

 3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 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. 5 Likewise 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. 6 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.

 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

I will never forget the Wednesday night when my Youth Minister was teaching on this passage. He walked in and as he read this passage, he had a oblong thing wrapped in paper towels. We had no idea what it was, but we were so anxious to figure it out. As he taught this passage, he told us that we need to bite our tongue. Then....he unwrapped the paper towels. It was a huge, nasty cow’s tongue. It was at LEAST twelve inches long. And then he repeated his point...we need to bit the tongue. He proceeded to hold that tongue up with both hands, raised it to his mouth, and sunk his teeth into that tongue, ripping away a huge chunk out of it. 

I will never forget that night, but I constantly forget the lesson. Our tongues are deadly, and how we use them is a direct result of our heart. There are four aspects of this trial within in the community: the issue; the need; the argument and the warning. The first is the issue, which is unqualified people who want to teach. 

In the Jewish community the Rabbi was the moral compass for the entire community. He was probably the only person that had the ability to read the Torah, let alone understand it and teach it to the lay people. Because of this, his teaching could either lead an entire community in the right direction, or lead them astray. Apparently, the same thing was true of the Christian communities to whom James was writing. He says: 

1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We 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’ point is that  this issue, of a person who does not need to be a teacher desiring to be a teacher, has a real NEED. This person, before becoming a teacher, needs to learn how to control his tongue. James says, if he can do that, he will become a “perfect”, or a better translation would be “complete”, person. And when he can control his tongue, he can control his whole body. This is the issue that is going on, and the need is that these unqualified people become qualified by learning how to control their tongues. James then moves on to prove his case by the argument. 

 3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 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. 5 Likewise 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.

James uses three common day examples to support his argument, that the tongue drives the rest of the body. He says, just as the bit in the horse’s mouth controls the horse, and just as the small rudder steers the boat, and finally, just as a great forest is set on fire with a small spark, the tongue directs and steers the entire life of the person. What an incredible idea! The way we speak, the way we use our tongue directs and guides the rest of our lives. Our speech is the fruit of our heart, it reveals and guides our lives, showing whether we are truly thinking heavenly or not. And that is why James follows his argument with the warning. 

6 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.

 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

James makes eight warnings, revealing to his audience how dangerous the tongue truly is. He says the tongue is: 1. unrighteous (3.6 “world of evil); 2. Staining (3.6 “corrupts”); 3. Inflaming (3.6 “sets the whole course of his life on fire”); 4. From Gehenna (3.6 “by hell”); 5. Untamable (3.8 “no man can tame”); 6. Unstable (3.8 “restless evil”); 7. Full of deadly poison (3.8); and 8. Place of hypocrisy (3.9-12). James’ warning is that the tongue is a very dangerous thing. But if we can control our tongue, it not only reveals whether we are thinking heavenly, but it directs our whole bodies, making us complete in God’s sight. 

The lesson my youth minister taught really sums up this entire passage. We just have to bite our tongues. Proverbs 17.28 comes to mind: 

28 Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent,
   and discerning if he holds his tongue.

The first step to taming the tongue is to simply not use it. My guess is that 90% of misuse of the tongue would be solved if we would simply just shut up and listen. Try, for the next 40 days, to just shut up. Don’t talk about other people, don’t make any kind of crass jokes. Don’t give your opinions about anything or argue. Just listen. My challenge is to do this for at least two weeks, and I guarantee you that God will begin to give more wisdom and will begin to produce completeness in your life. Think Heavenly about your tongue, and who knows, perhaps you will bring heaven to someone else.