James 3: 1-12 Dynamite In A Small Package

James 3:1-12 Dynamite In A Small Package

[1] Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. [2] For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. [3] If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. [4] Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they
are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. [5] So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! [6] And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. [7] For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, [8] but no one can tame the tongue--a restless evil, full of deadly poison. [9] With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. [10] From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. [11] Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? [12] Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevinefigs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

What is happening in this scripture? – The gospel of James is chock full of wisdom and is quite modern even for today’s 21st century people. In these lines, the writer warns the men and women of this early congregation that not many of them should become teachers. Indeed in the Presbyterian church, ministers are often referred to as teaching elders. James reminds his readers that their congregations will judge them with greater strictness than others. He says we all make mistakes and anyone whose speaking is perfect is able to keep the whole body in check, like a good horseman controls a steed with the bridle. He uses the analogy of ships, large in size, yet controlled with a small rudder. Then he brings up the human tongue, a small member that boasts of great exploits. Dynamite in a small package. James says the tongue is like a small fire and a small fire can set an entire forest to blaze. He tells us that the fire of the tongue can stain the entire body, and can be hellish. He says the entire animal kingdom can be tamed, but not the human tongue, which he calls a restless evil, full of deadly poison. James says we use the same tongue that we bless Christ and God with to curse our fellow humans, who are made in the likeness of our God. This should not be so, James says, asking us how a spring could give us both fresh and brackish water.

How is this happening in the world today? – James really nails me with this scripture! How many times have I regretted having said something stupid, selfish, or inconsiderate? How many times have I spoken in anger, only to hurt the very ones I love? But I don’t think James is fair to the poor little “member” called the tongue. It’s not the tongue that gets us in trouble. It’s the brain! For some reason we resist the effort it takes to be intentional about loving others. We let our egos get in the way, and take the low road. Perhaps this is the reason Jesus emphasized loving our neighbors as ourselves, because he knew how good people are at putting themselves first. Paradoxically, when I put myself over or in front of the other person, it’s not really self love I am expressing, it’s anxiety and self doubt. Jesus overwhelms us and cuts through all the bull with his acceptance and grace and forgiveness. We respond to that grace with sincere gratitude, but it doesn’t take long for us to begin acting as if we’d never been exposed to that way of living.
We resist being transformed. We want to halfway do as he did, as long as it’s convenient and doesn’t require too much change from us. And it is this resistance I think that keeps us hanging around in the lobby of transformation rather than walking into the inner rooms of authentic Christian life.

(Re: our tongues)…we bless the Lord and Father, and with it
we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same
mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought
not to be so.

And yet… when we forget this fear, this anxiety, this need to put ourselves first, we are called home again, to that place where God made us to be: with each other. And just as words can destroy, the Word can heal and transform us into the beings that we could be, if only we would take that leap. And like the prophets, God touches our mouths with the hot coals of his truth, and our tongues become an instrument of healing and peace and love. And as James says,

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire!

May it be so. - RSP