MPC, 12th January 2003.James 3 - "The Taming of the Tongue"
Phil Campbell MPC, 12th January 2003.
My young friend Jack is at primary school. And at Jack's school there are four very simple rules. Every room at Jack's school has got the rules written on cardboard on the wall. And here they are...
and then these two...
One rule about attitude. One rule about hands. And two rules about what you do with your tongue.
I guess you'd find the same sort of rules in just about every class in just about every school you can think of. Kids need to be told. Don't abuse each other. And keep your tongue still. Don't talk out of turn.
And not just kids.
Mind you, it's easier said than done, isn't it? Controlling our tongues is incredibly hard to do. Customs and the Quarantine Department work overtime to make sure foot and mouth disease doesn't break out in Australia. But they can't stop foot-in-mouth disease no matter how hard they try.
Because we keep on saying things we don't mean to say. We so easily say things that hurt people. Or things that embarrass people. We so easily gossip. We so easily spread discontent. We so easily complain. And every one of us here this morning can think of things we wish we never said.
George W Bush is famous for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. His tongue keeps getting him in trouble. Last February George was in Japan. Briefing the financial press after he met with the Japanese prime minister. Now I'm not an expert in international economics. But I know there's a difference between deflation and devaluation. George got them mixed up. And announced to the media they'd been talking about devaluation. When he meant to say deflation. And his sent the value of the Yen spiralling. Cost investors a fortune.
Words are dangerous if you're the president of the USA. Words are dangerous for all of us.
Words we wish we could take back. In the middle of that argument. Just wanted to score a few cheap points. Or you take someone down a peg or two. A bit of well aimed gossip. But when you see the consequences... mightn't change the world economy. But the damage is just as real. And probably takes longer to recover.
Sometimes it's as if your tongue just goes and does it on its own. Which is why we have expressions like, he really had to bite his tongue. You almost have to hold it down so it doesn't say something it shouldn't. Because it's just so easy to say things we regret.
And James knows exactly what it's like. He spells it out here in chapter 3; and I reckon it's one of the most straightforward chapters in the bible. Full of simple little illustrations. Simple to understand. But James says it himself. One of the hardest things to master.
First of all, though, James has got a special word for teachers. Bible teachers. Which means people like me. Or our Kidzbiz teachers. Or school scripture teachers.
And he brings it in here for one very obvious reason. You know, you've just got to have a look when you walk into the butchers shop sometime. I reckon ninety percent of butchers have got only ninety percent of their fingers. And it's all because of the tools of their trade. When you're a butcher, you're using a very sharp knife. Which makes it a dangerous job.
Well, let me tell you, if you're a teacher in the church, you're using the most dangerous tool of all. You're using your tongue. So you need to be careful.
Which means, says James, it's not the sort of job you want to rush into. It's not a job to push yourself forward for. He says "Don't be presumptuous." Wait til you're pressed into service.
Read his words. Verse 1. He says "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly."
God takes Bible teaching seriously. Because when you're teaching God's people you've got the potential to lead them astray.
Now that doesn't mean you don't do it. He's not saying that at all. In fact, he's saying teaching is incredibly important. And we need people who can teach the bible faithfully. We need 'em in our Presbyterian denomination. We need 'em here in our church.
But James says, don't presume. Don't push yourself forward just because you like the sound of your own voice. I've interviewed guys who are candidates for the ministry. One guy, I asked him if anyone's actually encouraged him to go into ministry. I asked him if anyone's actually noticed his teaching gifts. And the answer was no both times.
He was presuming. Putting himself forward. And he had all sorts of spiritual sounding reasons. Like he was unemployed and it sounded like a secure job. Like he thought God was calling him. But let me tell you, God's clearest call is often through his people. Who 'll see your gifts. And encourage you to use them.
And the bottom line is, if you're encouraged into a teaching ministry then be careful. Because the knife is sharp!
Well, let's go on and see what James is actually saying about the tongue and what it's like. He uses a whole bunch of illustrations to make his point, but you'll see on the outline I've arranged it under three main headings.
1. Small Part, Big Effect
2. The Untameable Tiger
3. The Forked Tongue
So let's look at what he says first. Three illustrations about small things that have big effects.
Now I figure it's a lot of years since I've been on a horse. My first name actually means lover of horses. And I'm not. And from my memory, I'm not totally convinced it's quite as easy as James makes out. I mean, the horse I was on seemed to go wherever it wanted to. But I guess when you watch someone who knows what they're doing, it's true. Great big horse. Tiny little bit in its mouth. And they can make the horse do exactly what they want to. Little bit. Big horse. And so illustration number 1, James says in verse 3... "When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal."
Same idea again in the next verse. "Or take ships as an example". Although they're so large and driven by strong winds, they're steered by a very small rudder where-ever the pilot wants to go."
Small rudder. Strong wind. Big ship. And its the tiny little rudder that sets the course. That has a disproportionate effect.
I mean, who would have thought such a little thing could make such a big difference? And James says, it's like that with our tongues. One tiny thoughtless word. One little stupid boast. One tiny little pink tongue can do huge amounts of damage.
And so the message is, be careful what you say! Be careful where you're steering with that little rudder. Because it can a lot of damage. James says "It's like a small spark." The second half of verse 5. "Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark."
And so the bushfires a month or so back. All it takes is a cigarette butt. And before you know it, you've got fires around half of New South Wales.
You know it's a funny thing, cause I reckon when you read that, you automatically think about gossip. And rumours. 'Cause that's how they spread, isn't it? Just takes a word. And it spreads. And someone else tells someone else. And in a flash, it's burning all around town. That's exactly what gossip's like.
But it's interesting when you read what James says next, there's another sort of damage as well. Not so much the damage your tongue can do to someone else - he's talking about the damage your tongue can do to you.
As if he's saying, your tongue's the thing that's got huge potential to get you into trouble. Idle words that end up steering your life straight into the rocks. Look how he puts it in verse 6. He says, "The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, he says, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
Your tongue doesn't only damage other people. If it's out of control it damages you. Your tongue's the thing that says no when it should have said yes. And says yes when it should have said no. Your tongue's the thing that argues with people, that creates bad feeling, that gets you tied up in slander and bitterness and lies. Your tongue can set your life on fire. And it's the devil's favourite tool.
The little tongue can do a lot of damage. And that's his first point. Like a bit in a horses mouth, like a rudder, like a little spark - your little tongue can make big trouble.
Well, that brings us to the next point James makes. Yet another little picture. In verses 7 and 8.
He says the fact is, men can tame almost anything. All kinds of animals. All kinds of birds. Reptiles. Fish. I think I saw an ad for a TV documentary about exactly that sometime last week. Everything except cats I reckon. Cats train humans.
But James says, if we haven't tamed 'em already, we're working on it. You can tame an elephant. You can tame a snake. But there's one thing that can't be tamed. And he says it in verse 8. But no man can tame the tongue. Simple as that, he says it's beyond us. "It's a restless evil," he says, "full of deadly poison." Untameable. It's like he says back in verse 2; if you're never at fault in what you say, you're perfect. If you can keep your tongue in check, then everything else is a piece of cake. Easy.
If you reckon it's tough keeping your tongue under control, then James says, "You're absolutely right." No man can do it.
Well, finally, one more tongue problem. And it's a bit like the Indians used to say about the cowboys on the old westerns. White man speak with forked tongue.
Which is what James is saying in verse 9 to 12 - and it's not just white man. He says, how can the same tongue produce praise for God... and poison?
You might be wondering that about your place. You might be wondering that about yourself. He says, "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing." He says, My brothers, this shouldn't be!
I mean, it's the ultimate in hypocrisy, isn't it? You come along to church on a Sunday and you sing May the mind of Christ my Saviour live in me from day to day. And then you walk out of church and you're brutal in your criticism... of a brother Christian made in God's image. Or you're fighting with your wife. Or using acid sarcasm.
You can almost hear the pain in James voice can't you? When he says, "My brothers, this should not be." It's just not right! It's not natural. He says, Fresh water and salt water don't flow from the same spring. So what's going on? He says, you don't get olives and grapes from the same plant. So what's the story? What's the problem?
Well, I'll tell you what the problem is. The problem's exactly what Jesus said back in Matthew 15. And I want you to listen while I read you the words of Jesus from Matthew 15. Jesus says this. He says, "The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what makes a man unclean."
See, our tongue problem is really a sign of something else. It's a symptom of something deeper. Your tongue's just the outward display of our inward problem. And the problem is what's in our hearts.
And when you think about it a bit, the times our tongue gets us in trouble are so often the times when little things get out. When we blurt out the things we're thinking. Instead of keeping the lid on it.
Back in the 1930s George Burns and Gracie Allen had a radio show. And in one of the famous lines, George Burns says to Gracie, "Gracie, why don't you think before you speak!" And Gracie says, "How do I know what I'm thinking until I say it!?!"
Which is the way it so often is. And it's not till you've said it... that it's out in the open. And you know what's inside.
At the end of verse 12 James sums it up. The fact is, he says, a salt spring can't produce fresh water. So what do you do? I mean, do you just give up?
Cause he's already said this. He's already said no man can tame the tongue. It just shows what's inside. So what are we meant to do?
Well, let me suggest James gives us an answer in the rest of the chapter. Verses 13 to 18. And the answer is, you've got to start from the heart.
If you're a salt spring - if you're full of bitterness, if you're full of resentment - it comes out. And it always will.
And so pray for God's help to deal with that. And change it. Don't bother biting your tongue. Work on the inside. And then let your tongue show that.
James says you can keep chasing bitter envy and selfish ambition. Or you can pursue the wisdom that comes from heaven. And changes your heart.
It's in verse 17. And the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, he says, then peaceloving, and considerate, and submissive, and full of mercy and good fruit.
Remember the fruit? You can't get sweet grapes from a bitter olive tree. But if you change the tree, then you change the fruit. And that's what he's saying here. What we need is a change of heart. If you're full of mercy, then what's your tongue going to do when you get a chance to gossip? You'll say something merciful instead. If you're peaceloving at heart... you'll be naturally wanting to use your tongue to make peace. Instead of division. If you're considerate... then you'll think before you speak. Weighing up how people are going to feel.
You might remember, back in chapter 1 James already said something similar. He said, be quick to listen and slow to speak. And then he said this. Chapter 1 verse 26 if you want to flip back to it.
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
So how about this week you do a reality check on your religion... and make sure you're not kidding yourself. Every time you open your mouth this week stop and think about what you are going to say. Pull yourself up before you get involved in the gossip. Press the pause button long enough to ask for God's wisdom. By God's Spirit.
So you won't even want to get involved in the name calling and slander and griping and complaining that's somehow so enticing. Make sure that people can see that you are different by the way you use your tongue. And that the tongue you use to praise God this morning is the same tongue that brings glory to God during the week.