James 3:1-12 – Speaking in Tongues of Life or Death

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! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

James 3:1-12

I suggested in the discussion of James 2:14-26 (Faith, Works, and a Big Sandwich) that James constructed his letter somewhat like a big sandwich with the meat of true religion (James 1:26-2:17) placed directly in the middle. The next layer wrapped around that meat is found in James 1:22-25 and James 2:14-26 regarding the relationship between hearing, or having faith, and doing, or works. Continuing with that same analogy, this week’s passage is the next layer of James’s sandwich; the tongue and its unrighteousness.

In James 1:22-25, we saw how James encouraged the early Jewish believers to listen quickly to the word of God but to slowly speak their minds and slowly respond with their unrighteous anger. This week’s passage, James 2:14-26, balances those words by focusing primarily on the tongue; the member of our body responsible for releasing the unrighteous thoughts filling our heart and mind.

If it weren’t for our tongue and the words that come out of our mouth we could look pretty good from the outside. We could feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, aid the orphan, the widow, the sojourner. We could even become teachers of God’s word and seemingly have it all together. But, even though works come from our faith, and in a sense validates it, we could still be rotten inside. Certainly, good works must come from our faith, from listening to the word, but James is pushing things a bit deeper; actions just aren’t enough.

Keep in mind that James isn’t discussing salvation here; his focus is on the life of the believer following salvation. We, as saved people, might participate in all sorts of good works but if our heart has not been changed, then nothing but filthy bile will cross our lips that, at the very least, taints our works; perchance it even makes them vain.

But this is not a new teaching. Jesus said; “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person” (Matthew 15:10-11). Jesus’s comments were directed toward the Scribes and Pharisees, a group of people who were well-known sticklers for obeying the law; they even had regulations about washing your hands and purifying bowls. But the Pharisees were hypocrites because they did not follow their own teachings; their words and demeanor were wicked and vile even though they religiously obeyed the written law.

I suspect Jesus’s words to the Pharisees are what prompted James to write, “Not many of you should become teachers…” The Scribes and Pharisees were the teachers of the law, but they were not faithful in their own lives (read Matthew 23 if you have any doubts about this). But as for these Jews who were living away from the temple, they most likely wanted to find a teacher. But James warns them about teachers because of our human capacity and tendency to say vile things.

The rules regulating our behavior, James suggests, are not able to tame our tongue; our hearts must be changed. James wants his readers to understand that the tongue sets the course for our life. But it is more than just the tongue, it is the fact that the tongue reveals our inner self. We may seem to be capable of good works, but when the outlet for our heart — the tongue — begins to flow we find out who we really are. Words can cut or heal, tear down or build up, kill or enliven. Our tongue is our life’s rudder; it is the bit leading us along life’s path.

Many have heard and even used the phrase “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” But I think most of us know how false that statement really is. We can all most likely recall a time when a word or phrase was said by a parent, sibling, friend, or teacher that killed some longing within us. We might secretly, even now, wish to succeed in that thing but we avoid it because we once heard a discouraging word. Hopefully, there have been other times when our longings were enlivened and nourished because of positive words we heard. Either way, both the soft touch and sharp cut of the tongue can change the course of our lives.

But we have not only been on the receiving end of the tongue; we also have been the ones speaking words of encouragement or discouragement into the lives of others. Our tongues have probably helped send people along a wonderful life path, but we have most likely also wrought havoc in someone’s soul. Words are, in fact, more hurtful than sticks and stones.

But who in the Sam Hill can control their tongue?
No one.

Many of us have walked into church and sang the most recent worship songs, but on the way to church or on the way home, we discouraged a friend, a family member, or an acquaintance with our words. And if it wasn’t someone within earshot, we hurled curses at the drivers of the other cars on the road. Most of the time, it isn’t a forethought, it just flows out, but there have probably been other times when we knew what we were doing before we did it. Hatred flows out of our heart and across our tongues and we are unable and sometimes unwilling to stop it.

As I re-read this passage of James I struggle to find any sort of encouragement. I don’t mean to say that James’s purpose is to discourage us; he is speaking the truth. But his words reveal that we are, on our own, in a boatload of trouble. Our rudder sends us into deep waters, and then it just gets worse from there. Even on those days when our course seems to be clearly charted across calm waters, we find some way to steer our life’s ship awry. And, given the limitations of our own power, there is no obvious way to turn back.

It is only when we look at the other half of this layer of James’s sandwich that we find part of the answer given by James. In James 1:19-21, James says that we are to be slow to speak — something we can’t do on our own — but quick to listen to the word of God. James says that the implanted word of God is able to save our souls. God’s words and his righteousness are the only agents powerful enough to cleanse the heart and purify all that flows from the spigot of our souls — the tongue.

It is not enough to be engaged in the “true religion” of taking care of the poor, the orphans, the widows; it is not enough to stay away from those things that make us unclean; it is not enough for our works to flow out of our faith. If our tongue releases the wicked bile churning within our unchanged heart, then all of that is worthless.
In the Sermon on the Mount, specifically Matthew 5:17-48, Jesus uses the phrase “you have heard it said…but I say to you…” a number of times. Read that passage and then ask yourself if you were there on that day would you think Jesus’s words would have been encouraging to you? Every time Jesus used that phrase he made the Christian life much more difficult than what people expected. Not only do people have to obey the law with their actions, but now, Jesus said, their heart needs to be pure.

No murder? No problem. But no anger? Really?
No adultery? No problem. But no lust? Really?
No revenge? No problem. But willingly submit to my oppressors? Really?
Love my neighbor? No problem. But love my enemy? Really?

When James writes about the tongue he is saying that it is the one true barometer for what lies within your heart. You might not commit murder or adultery, you might not enact revenge, and you might not express your anger with your enemy, but if you harbor those feelings in your heart, you are sinning. And the tongue — the unbridled barometer of your soul — reveals what is really in your heart.

But who can tame the tongue?
I said it before; no one.

I would love to conclude by saying that we shouldn’t worry. I would love to say that we can do it. And I would love to say that James offers us seven easy steps by which we can tame our tongue. But I can’t. This portion of James’s letter is a mirror into which we must look. Don’t cover the mirror with your pride or self-justification; just look into the mirror of scripture and see your imperfections. Does your tongue breathe out life or does it convey death?

James, as I’ve already said, provides part of the solution to this problem in James 1:19-21, but it isn’t until James 3:13-18 — the next layer of his big sandwich — that he fully reveals the solution. But don’t look ahead just yet. It is important to study ourselves in the mirror of scripture. We need to realize that we have neither the strength nor the wisdom required to solve our own problems. And, when we do, then, and only then, can we humbly accept God’s gift that leads to righteousness.