The Mighty Tongue
- jessie kinleyside
- Dec 30, 2020
- 13 min read
James 3
My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
When I think about the book of James, I always remember the folly of the tongue. James 3 has a great deal to say about the benefits and consequences of the tongue as well as many other nuggets of wisdom. In verse 1, “masters,” or the Greek word, “didaskaloi” means teachers implies that many during the early church wanted to teach others. Being a teacher is a great responsibility. James states that those who would teach would receive stricter scrutiny and judgement from the Lord. How important it is to have teachers who not only know their Bible theology but also follow the Lord’s leading. When someone teaches, part of them imputes to the pupil. The pupil is changed by the teaching. Therefore, teachers should be held to a higher standard not only because of how they understand and impart the Word of God, but also due to their effect on others.
In verses 2-12, James acknowledges that words of a teacher are very powerful. Verse 2, James admits that everyone has trouble in the area of speech. He states that if we don’t “offend” others with our words, we would be perfect. We would be able to do what most could not, control our tongues which meant we could have perfect self-control. He illustrates this point in six very clear pictures: a horse, a ship, fire, poison, fountain, and a fig tree.
The bridled horse: James compares the tongue to the bridle and bit placed into the horse’s mouth. As the bit controls the horse, the tongue can control a person. One article regarding horses and bits states, “Bits work by exerting pressure inside the horse's mouth. The idea is that, by moving away from the discomfort of the pressing bit, the horse moves in the direction the rider wants to go. In a properly trained horse with the right tack and a knowledgeable rider, it all works together to create unity between the rider's wishes and the horse's performance.” I find it interesting that the author states it “create(s) unity. That is what James was speaking of; whatever the person is thinking and feeling will come out as words through their mouth. The soul of the person and the tongue are in unity, for better or for worse.
The helm of a ship: the NIV Bible states that the ship can be “steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go” (James 3:4b). One of the most famous ships, the Titanic, hit an iceberg April 15th, 1912. Many have stipulated that perhaps the ship did not turn quick enough due to a small rudder. The rudder is the primary equipment that turns the ship. Author Tim Maltin states, FALSE. In fact Titanic turned very well. Her stern easily cleared the iceberg under port helm, when she had—only moments before—been under full starboard helm, which had succeeded in throwing her stem clear of the iceberg.” The problem was not that the rudder couldn’t do its job, the problem was that no one realized the problem before it was too late. Our words can have the same problem; sometimes the words come out before we realize the problem and then the damage has already been done. Those of us who would like to have better control and direction in life would be best to control our tongues and the words that come out of it.
A small spark: Adrian Rogers states in his sermon on James, “fire is great servant but a poor master.” James states the tongue is like a spark; it may be small, but it can have great power either to bring warmth and love to others or devour and destroy lives if left uncontrolled. In 1666 a “fire began accidentally in the house of the king’s baker,” leading to the greatest fire in London’s history. “It destroyed a large part of the City of London, including most of the civic buildings, old St. Paul’s Cathedral, 87 parish churches, and about 13,000 houses.” Accidental words can do much damage. They can break up a relationship, tear down a person’s joy, or even destroy someone’s character. Proverbs 26:20 says, “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.” A talebearer or whisperer is only so faint. Whispers of vain words spoken haughtily, cunning white lies, a small gossip: the beginnings of trouble. Proverbs 12:18 states, “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Are our words Christ-like, or do they resemble the world in all its lies, slander, vile, vulgar, and God blaspheming rhetoric? James states that the tongue can the set the whole body “on fire,” setting the “course of nature.” It defiles the whole body. The devil is called the father of lies (John 8:44). Do our words reveal who our father is? Are they bringing a little bit of heaven on earth or do we “set on fire of hell?” (vs 6).
A deadly poison: Next James discusses man’s relationship to the nature. Man, though not as powerful, has been able, through God’s provision, tame the wild beasts of the earth. Yet, no man has been able to tame his own tongue. James calls it a “deadly poison” (vs 8). Poison has been around since ancient times. Adolph Hiltler, Socrates, and even poor Romeo and Juliet have succumbed to the fatal elixir of poison. James compares the tongue to poison, something that brings about death. Proverbs 18:21 states, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” Toby Mac has a song called, “Speak Life” where he is talking of this exact truth.
Well, it's crazy to imagine Words from my lips as the arms of compassion Mountains crumble with every syllable Hope can live or die
So speak life, speak life To the deadest, darkest night Speak life, speak life When the sun won't shine and you don't know why Look into the eyes of the broken hearted Watch 'em come alive as soon as you speak hope
With the very words of our mouth we can build people up or we can tear them down. We can bring God’s word of truth and life or we can tear down their hope, their very sense of being and value. We can verbally attack a person’s character and demoralize their spirit. With social media becoming the fastest and most utilized form of communication, the rise of cyber bullying has caused many to end their lives. Some 2020 statistics state, “The most common type of online bullying is mean comments 22.5%. 7 in 10 young people experience cyberbullying before they hit the age of 18. Between 2008 and 2015, the number of teens who attempted suicide or had suicidal thoughts has doubled, as revealed at the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting of 2017. Many cases were the result of cyberbullying.” Yes, words can be poison.
An unnatural fountain: Yellowstone National Park has numerous wonders. Some of those wonders are the beautiful geysers and springs. While traveling there, I was able to swim in an amazing river. Due to geographic fissures in the ground under the water, I was able to swim in a wonderful, warm water, yet only a few feet away the water was as cool and refreshing as a glass of lemonade on a hot day. Other springs were not so lovely. Even before you saw the springs, you could smell it. The very familiar scent of rotten eggs welcomed you to the sulphur springs. James makes note that one fountain does not produce fresh water and putrid water. It will bring forth one or the other. People on the hand are not that way. We praise God but profane His servants. We complement our bosses but criticize our family. We fill out mouth with blesses and curses. My pastor, Andy Lake, has voiced on many occasion that man is made in the image of God. We don’t curse God, therefore we should not curse man. We don’t lie to God, so we should not lie to our fellow man. We don’t hate God, so we should not hate others either. James also states this in verse 9, “Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.” He also points out that trees only produce fruit after its kind. Apple trees bear apples, oranges bear oranges, cherries bear cherries and so on. God has set an order in creation. Yet, man doesn’t follow God’s order. He has the living water inside him, yet he spews the “salt water” of death. Proverbs 18:21 states, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it.” Luke 6:43-45 confirms this, “For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 44For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. 45A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” We should not be ignorant. Our actions do have consequences. If we choose to keep a vile tongue and are not self-controlled, we will bring death to our life and the life of others. Many times our tongue is a reflection of our heart, but if we don’t be careful, the tongue can start affecting our walk and cause us to stumble.
The last section of James 3 compares using the tongue wisely versus letting the tongue get out of control. An unwise person will have “bitter envying and strife in your hearts” (vs 14) leading to “confusion and every evil work” (vs 16). Again, we see the connection between the heart and the tongue. James calls this, “earthly, sensual, devilish” (vs 15). On the other hand, a wise person is “endued with knowledge” and “shew out of good conversation (behavior) his works with meekness of wisdom” (vs 13). This sort of “wisdom is from above” (vs 17). A very amusing verse found in Proverbs 17:28 says, “Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.” Abraham Lincoln has been noted of saying, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.” It would be better if people would learn just to hold their tongues.
We can either have the tongue controlled by the devil or the tongue controlled by God. The Godly tongue is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (vs 17).
A pure tongue does not speak deceit. It is full of the wisdom of God. Psalm 34:13 says, “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.” We keep our mouth pure by keeping our “well” attached to the pure source, God. Paul teaches us in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any praise, think on these things." When our minds and hearts bring good things in, it will bring forth good things. As we have seen before, our hearts and our tongue are mirrors of one another.
A gentle tongue is one of the fruits of a wisely used tongue. Titus 3:2 states, “To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.” Meekness is humility. James makes it very clear that the tongue cannot be tamed with man’s own power (vs 8). It is only by the wisdom of God one can understand how to use the tongue, and it is only by the Holy Spirit living within us that gives us power over the sinful tongue. One of the names for the Holy Spirit is Spirit of wisdom and revelation. God states, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5).
When one is easy to be intreated, one is approachable. A tongue controlled by the Lord will “be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (James 1:19). When people come to you, are they worried you are going to lose your temper, degrade them, and verbally abuse them? This should not be. As Christians we should follow Jesus’ example. He never yelled at anyone who approached Him. He never told them, “that’s a stupid question…idiot!” He always seasoned His speech with grace.” As Paul encourages in Colossians 4:6, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Jesus understood the frailty of man. He knew exactly what the person was saying and thinking. He could look into their heart and their soul. He also knew that many of these same people were going to push for His death, yet He chose to respond in love. None of us are perfect as our Lord, but we can strive to be approachable. Perhaps our very words will open a door to present the gospel.
A Godly tongue is “full of mercy and good fruits.” Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” Do our mouths show mercy to others or are we critical and overbearing. This reminds me of a proverb, “It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house” (21:9). Many women are known for their searing mouths, and harsh tongues. How sweet it is when one finds a woman full of grace and sweetness. She will exude the fruits of the spirit, “…love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
A mouth should not sin by showing partiality to others. James chapter 2 discusses this sin in detail.
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and another come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. (vs 1-13)
One of God’s greatest attributes is His impartiality. God loves everyone. Jesus states in the well-known verse in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If one were to say God was partial to anything it would be to the poor, righteous, weak, and innocent. God seems to be on the side of the underdog. James makes it very clear in chapter 2, that a heart that belongs to the Lord should not show favoritism especially based on money. Partiality is a sin (2:9). The scary consequence is written in vs 13, “he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy.”
A Godly tongue should be without hypocrisy. Our walk should mirror our talk. No student would follow a teacher’s leading and advice if the teacher himself didn’t have enough faith to walk the walk. As a parent, I am reminded that more than words, my children are watching my actions. They are more often going to do what I do, regardless of the words that are coming out of my mouth. Kids are very aware of lip service. No matter, if I tell my children I love them, but I don’t show it, they will not believe me. A teacher is held to a high standard to be the kind of person they are wanting others to be. The result is “the fruit of righteousness…sown in peace” (vs 18). Peace not only with others, but with oneself, and ultimately with God.
References
Hindson, Edward E. The King James Study Bible. 2nd Edition. Liberty University, 2013, Lynchburg, VA.
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