Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 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. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 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. 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! James 3:1-5.
We all have heard that actions speak louder than words. In so many scenarios that is exactly true. We claim many things but often violate or ignore the very things we claim by acting contrary to what we say. This is an ongoing problem with all of us. We tell people we would love to get together, but then never make it happen. We tell people we will pray for them and immediately forget. Sometimes this is unintentional and sometimes we just lie to those around us. We communicate our “best intentions” but struggle to value what we say to others and often do not follow through. Lots of things we say sound great but never come to fulfillment.
One of the weird ones are biblical phrases like, “Lord willing.” I remember when I said I was going to do something and finished with, Lord willing, and immediately was challenged by the people around me. They claimed that this was not about “Lord willing” but we are going to make this activity happen. I was a bit stunned but realized this group had encountered so many Christians who developed the habit of saying “Lord willing,” but never had any intention of following through, the biblical truth (James 4:13-17) became meaningless.
James tells us that words often speak louder than actions. His comment is that what we say and how we say things reveals the true nature of our heart. In one breath, we bless God and in the next breath, we curse people who are made in the image of God; how does that make any sense? Yet, we all have this tendency to “praise the Lord” and then become very disparaging towards others. Since we all stumble in many ways (v. 2), we must be careful about our words. Everything in this world can be tamed, but the tongue of human beings is an ongoing, systemic problem. In fact, James makes that very point, “… no human can tame the tongue.” (James 3:8).
A perfect (mature) person can control their own tongue. This is the one would have the discipline to control every aspect of their life. To control the tongue is to control one’s life. Such a simple task but completely unmanageable. This little member reveals more of the true nature of our heart. Nothing could expose the spiritual condition of our life than how we speak to those around us. So volatile is our tongue that he tells us, “… the tongue is a small member, yet it can set on fire the whole course of our life and is set on fire by hell.”
In our world we have other ways to “speak” to others and about others called social media. Like everything else, it is a tool for communication. It can be used to build others up or tear them down. We can “bless” those we connect with, or we can “destroy” them instantly by what we say on social media. It does not take long to be on any of these platforms and you can see clearly the heart of people. Of course, social media, with all its different modes of communication, can reflect both our words and our actions. Like anything else, it is not so much the tool itself that is a problem but the people speaking through it.
James reminds me that our tongue exposes the things of the heart. If we claim to be Christians, one of the obvious ways the Spirit of God dwelling in us ought to change in us, is the way we speak to others and the way we speak about others. We all stumble in many ways, but it does get wearisome when people who claim to be Christians just can’t stop destroying and hurting others with their tongue. We cannot control what is beyond us, but the Spirit of God can transform us, so our words do speak louder than our actions.
Pastor Brad
