A Study of the Book of James
Sermon # 6
“Taming the Tongue.”
James 3:1-12
When was the last time your mouth got you in trouble? Have you ever said some-thing that you wish you had not? Or have you have been on the receiving end of a biting or thoughtless comment, and have felt wounded or slandered?
“A man working in the
produce department was asked by a lady if she could buy half a head of lettuce. He
replied, “Half a head? Are you serious? God grows these in whole heads and that’s
how we sell them!”
“You mean,” she
persisted, “that after all the years I’ve shopped here, you won’t sell me
half-a-head of lettuce?”
“Look,” he said,
“If you like I’ll ask the manager.” She indicated that would be
appreciated, so the young man marched to the front of the store. “You won’t
believe this, but there’s a lame-braided idiot of a lady back there who wants to know
if she can buy half-a-head of lettuce.”
He noticed the manager
gesturing, and turned around to see the lady standing behind him, obviously having
followed him to the front of the store. “And this nice lady was wondering if she
could buy the other half” he concluded. Later in the day the manager cornered the
young man and said, “That was the finest example of thinking on your feet I’ve
ever seen! Where did you learn that?”
“I
grew up in Grand Rapids, and if you know anything about Grand Rapids, you know that it’s
known for its great hockey teams and its ugly women.”
The manager’s face flushed,
and he interrupted, “My wife is from Grand Rapids!” “And which hockey team
did she play for?” [Sermon
Illustrations @ www.bible.org/illus/ tongue,
cf speech].
It is interesting to consider that one of the
first things that a physician does when examining a patient is look at his or her tongue,
since it is often an index to the health to the rest of the body. In the same way, that
which is produced by the tongue – words – also furnishes an index to the health
of the spiritual body – the heart. In Matthew 12:34 Jesus warned that “…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Everyday, you and I speak thousands of
words. Some are carefully planned and selected; others are spoken impulsively. Some are
spoken quietly; others are spoken with more volume. Some of our words are spoken with the
desire to help and encourage; some with the motivation to hurt, belittle and retaliate.
However, most of our words are spoken with little, if any, thought about how they will
affect others.
James
speaks to us about the importance of every word we speak. For each word will make an
impact – both on God who records, evaluates and will judge every spoken word and on
those who hear our words. In Matthew 12:36-37 Jesus warns, “But
I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the
day of judgment. (37) For by your words you will be
justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
James tells that this problem is both
universal and continual. In verse
two he says, “For we all stumble in many things. If
anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.”
Every one stumbles and stumbling is
embarrassing. You are walking along and your shoe catches on some uneven part of the
sidewalk and you stumble. Your first thought, almost subconsciously is, “I wonder
who saw that.” So you, put a little skip in your step and try to pretend that
did in on purpose. But not all stumbles are just blows to our pride, some are moral or
character stumbles, and the consequences are much worse.
One area in which we are most likely to
stumble is in the area of speech. It is our tongues that reveal the conditions of our
hearts. James makes three observation about the tongue.
First, The Tongue is Small But Powerful (vv.
3-5)
The tongue is small in proportion to the rest
of the body, but it can do great things. James uses three images to make his point.
First in verse three James says, “Indeed,” we put bits in the horse's mouths, that they may
obey us, and we turn their whole body.”
James says think of a powerful stallion
standing 17 hands tall, he is turned to his master’s will by the use of a bit six
inches long. Personally I find horses incredibly beautiful, incredibly powerful and
healthier me at a distance of 50 feet.
Secondly, in verse four James says, “Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by
fierce winds, yet are they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.”
Think of a mighty vessel with sails filled
with the wind yet the master of the ship with the aid of the rudder can change the
direction it travels. The point again is that even though the size of the vessel can be
quite large, yet it still can be steered by something proportionately very small.
So too our words can have a powerful impact
upon the lives of others. Karen Carpenter died unexpectedly of heart failure at age 32
brought on by years of self-abuse from the eating disorder Anorexia Nervosa. Later CBS
released a program called The Karen Carpenter Story. The USA Today in commenting on this program asked the question, "But what
brought on Karen’s fatal obsession with weight control?” The answer
given was that it seems a reviewer many years before had once referred to Karen as
"Richard’s chubby sister." It is hard to fathom that a single negative
comment could change the course of someone’s life!
James uses on more word picture in the
second part of verse five, “… See how great a
forest a little fire kindles!” Paul
says it only takes on tiny spark to ignite an entire forest.
The similarities between a fire and the
tongue are hard to miss.
James says that the tongue also has that kind
of power, verse five, “Even so the tongue is a little
member and boasts great things.” Just a few words, just a spark, can cause
years of heartache. “Look” the tongue struts and brags. “I can
ruin a reputation. I can rupture a friendship. I can spoil the most tender of moments. I can embarrass, humiliate and shame. I can cut
and I can curse and I can destroy.”
The Tongue is Small But Powerful and…
Secondly,
The Tongue is Small but Dangerous (vv.
6-8)
First, in verse six James compares the
In verse eight James says that words
“I
lost a little word only the other day.
It was a very naughty word I had not
meant to say.
But, then, it was not really lost,
when from my lips it flew,
My little brother picked it up, and
now it says it too.” [William
Varner. “A Subject in Everyone’s Mouth.” Israel My Glory, April/May
1999, p. 22.]
We need to never
underestimate the power of the tongue to do harm. Ask God to help you guard what you say.
David prayed in Psalm 141:3, "Set
a guard, O LORD, over my mouth: keep watch
over the door of my lips." The Lord has to give you the power to control
your tongue.
The
Tongue is Small but Dangerous and…
Third,
The Tongue Is Small but Revealing. (vv.
9-12)
James not only tells
us that we sin by what we say, but that what we say reveals how sinful we are. In verse
nine he says, “With it we bless our God and Father, and
with it we curse men, who are made in the similitude of God. (10) Out of the same mouth
proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”
Doesn’t it bother you that we can be
praising God right now and in less than an hour we can be cursing the driver who just cut
in front of us? It should. We should listen carefully to ourselves and then we should
determine to do something about what we hear.
In verse eleven, James compares our
tongues to a fountain. “Does a spring send forth fresh water
and bitter from the same opening?” Strange and paradoxical words come from the
tongues of men. The same tongue both blesses and curses. This however never occurs in
nature. A spring of water is always either sweet or bitter.
Finally James compares
the tongue to a fruit tree in verse twelve. “Can a fig
tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt
water and fresh.”
James draws no conclusions from his
illustrations, because the conclusions were so obvious. What James is saying is that the
tongue only reveals what is at its source. Jesus stated it very plainly in Luke 6:43-45,
“For
a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. (44) For every tree is known by its own
fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble
bush. (45) A good man out of the good
treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his
heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his
mouth speaks.”
Application
We need to understand if we speak long enough
we will say something that we should not have. Scripture says, “In
the multitude of words there sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.”
(Proverbs
10:19)
Three truths
1. Never say anything about someone that you
would not say to their face.
2. Never say anything about someone unless they
are there to respond.
3. Refuse to listen to someone else gossip.
Gossip has been called the favorite indoor
Another convenient
excuse is that we don’t start gossip, however if someone wants to share something
with us how can we stop them. “To carry gossip is as bad as starting it.” Most gossip would end if we refused to hear it.
Pastor and author Charles Swindoll has
If you would like to get someone to stop
telling you gossip, next time they begin just say, “If I am not a
part of the problem, or a part of the solution, I would rather not hear this!”
I can almost guarantee you they will not feel led to “share” anything else with
you.
Three Questions.
We may find it helpful when we are in doubt
to ask ourselves three simple questions.
1. Is What I am About to Say True?
2. Is What I am About to Say Necessary?
3. Is What I am About to Say Helpful?