Taming the Tongue

One small spark drifts from a campfire. It lands in dry grass. A thin line of smoke. Then a flicker. And by morning, a whole hillside is black.

James, the brother of Jesus and a leader of the church in Jerusalem, is writing to Christians scattered across many lands. His letter is full of everyday wisdom. And one thing worries him more than most: the way believers talk. Words spoken in anger. Gossip. Boasting. People praising God together at worship, and then tearing each other down the very next day. So in chapter three, James paints a series of pictures, things his readers saw every day, to show how powerful a few words can be.

He starts with a warning for teachers. Not many of you should become teachers, he says, because those who teach will be judged more strictly. And then he admits something honest. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who never stumbles in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. Then come the pictures. Think of a horse. We put a small bit in its mouth, and we can turn the whole animal wherever we want. Or think of a ship. It is huge, and it is driven by strong winds. Yet it is steered by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot chooses. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things.

Then the most famous picture. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! A tiny flame can set a great forest burning. And the tongue is a fire, James says. One cruel remark can spread from person to person, until a whole friendship, or a whole church, is burning. Then James says something startling. People have tamed every kind of animal, birds and reptiles and sea creatures. But no human being can tame the tongue. It is restless, full of deadly poison. James is not saying give up. He is saying we cannot do this in our own strength. We need God's help.

Here is what troubles James most. With the same tongue we bless God our Father, and with it we curse people, who are made in God's own likeness. Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Does a spring pour out fresh water and salty water from the same opening? Can a fig tree grow olives? Of course not. Then James turns from the tongue to the heart behind it. Who is wise among you? Let them show it by a good life, by deeds done in gentleness. If your heart is full of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, do not boast about it. That is not wisdom from God. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. Peacemakers, James says, plant seeds in peace, and grow a harvest of goodness.

Ships in James's day were not steered by a rudder hung on the centre of the stern, as later ships were. They were steered by large steering oars, usually one on each side near the back, worked by a helmsman. Even a big merchant ship, carrying hundreds of tons of grain, could be turned by one man moving a long, narrow blade. The book of Acts mentions these steering oars being tied up during Paul's shipwreck.

Taming the tongue. You'll find James's pictures in James chapter three. A small bit, a small rudder, a small spark. Words are small, but they steer lives, and with God's help they can build up instead of burn down. So here is a question to carry with you. What words could you use today to bring peace instead of starting a fire?