WALK THIS WAY
James 3:2-12
New International Version
2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
When we are looking at someone who is doing something differently than we do, or when we are looking at someone who is doing something unethical in our understanding, it is easy to judge them for not being up to par, or for not doing things correctly. However, the truth is that when we are called out for not doing something right or for doing something differently, we want to be judged for our intent, or with grace. The truth is we expect everyone to be perfect, but we are quick to say, “I can’t be perfect,” when we are called out on our own stuff.
Deep down, we know what James says at the beginning of this passage, “we all stumble in many ways.” This confession should keep us humble, but we are too quick to forget this at times. Though we know it and own it when it comes to ourselves, we often forget that this verse is also the lens through which we are to see everyone else around us. This confession from James is meant to be a value we live by. It is a value James says to “walk this way” in.
In James’ day, it was standard Jewish belief, that everyone was broken, that everyone made mistakes, and that everyone was missing the mark or sinning. There was no doubt that one of the most common ways in which we sinned or missed the mark, was through the way we relate to each other with our speech. In Proverbs 11:9, the scriptures confess that it is “with their mouths [that] the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape.” Just in the next chapter, this book of wisdom captures for us that, “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” In Proverbs 18:21, readers are reminded “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” These Proverbs, especially this last one, may have entered your mind as we read James. These sayings of wisdom would probably also have been on the mind of James’ first audience.
The power of the tongue wasn’t only one that could bring about destruction, but it also was one that could bring life. Both James and these Proverbs show that our words, the power of the spoken word, have power. Paul believed the same thing because this is why Paul says, "Faith comes from hearing," in Romans 10:1, and "If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved," in Romans 10:9. Not only do words have the power to bring life or death, good or bad, right living or wrong living, they also have the ability to deliver us from the way of death to faith. Faith is solidified in the pronounced and public word. Our words, our voice, have deliverance power. However, in James, the Proverbs, and Paul, we see that there is an act of stewardship needed to how we use our words, why we use our words, and for what means we use our words. Jesus also spoke about the power of words and reminded us to steward our words wisely, and they can be a way in which the Kingdom of God is brought or hindered. In Luke 6:45, Jesus said, that a good person "brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart." Jesus summarized his teaching by saying, "For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." When we steward what is allowed in our hearts, ultimately, we will speak good things, life-giving things, encouraging words with the power of life. There are many paradoxes as we have seen in the scriptures, we are forgiven when we forgive, we are blessed when we bless, and we also find that the measure of our words will affect us. Jesus shared one of these weird paradoxes by saying, "For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words, you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37). Jesus’ teaching on the way the Kingdom of God works is one that says we are liberated by the way we liberate others with our words, by the way, we speak of good things and life, and we will be judged and imprisoned by the way our words judge and imprison others. We can summarize this by Jesus’ teaching that "the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Matthew 7:2), and that is true with our words too.
From the beginning of creation, humanity has looked to control their own fates and their own destiny. They have utilized the land and at times pillaged it for their advantage. We were given permission to utilize, steward, and tame the earth, carrying the image and name of God with us in our activities, and early on humanity found ways to do so. James mentions two ways in which we have done that, we have domesticated horses and sailed the wild waters with ships. Believe it or not, horses have been domesticated for years. In fact, around 1400 BC, that is 1,400 years before Jesus or the Common Era, we have records of metal bits, apparently made of bronze, in present-day Iran. Sterns, an early format of rudders, are depicted in Egyptian arts of riverboats as early as 1422 BC, or 1,400 years before Jesus and the Common Era. As a result, the imagery of bits and rudders had been a common illustration in this ancient Mediterranean era. They were pretty much an image that everyone had come to see. Using these illustrations would be the same as us quoting from Star Wars, Cell Phones, or Flushing Toilets. In this analogy, the bit and rudder represent an instrument that controls the earth to our means.
Both instruments, the bit for a horse and the rudder for a ship, are small in comparison to the horse or the vessel. Likewise, our tongue is a small part of our body. If the average tongue is 3-4”, the average six foot person, has a tongue that only makes up about 4.86% of their body. Think about the times you have said something you should not have. For some of us, that wasn’t too long ago. 4.86% of our body, was able to get the 95.14% of the rest of you in trouble. There is a song from a few years ago that had one of my favorite lines in it, it say that his mouth was the only thing that works harder than his heart. That’s impressive but true. James’ point is that we have controlled the seas and wild beasts to our advantage and somehow our tongue remains at large, running in the wild. This both speaks to the power of the word but also reminds us that if we really wanted to change this small part of our life, we could and would do it because we have done bigger and harder feats than this.
James then goes on to compare the tongue to the small spark that if the conditions are right, can become a forest fire. In 1997, in New Jersey, 800 acres were burned by a carelessly tossed cigarette. It ended up evacuating 2,000 people, which included two retirement complexes. In the same way that a carelessly tossed cigarette can cause a devastating fire, a carelessly tossed word can set a great fire to our life, and the quality of life we are experiencing. James actually said it brings about a “world of evil.” The small act of not watching your word has the ability to open the doors to evil, in such a way that a world of evil takes domain and dominion in your life. Over time, that becomes an anvil that slows us down, makes us sluggish, and keeps us from hearing the still small voice of God, and it keeps us out of God’s best for our lives. In time, as the domain and dominion of evil take hold of the various areas and arenas of our lives, James says that it sets the whole course, or trajectory, or journey, of one’s life on fire. That fire, to make his point, he says is the very evil fire of hell. Notice, that the boastful tongue brings harm. It brings a fire, which hurts. All of this is important to understand. A careless word invites a world of hurt. You may recall this imagery throughout many verses in the Old Testament, including Proverbs 16:27, where it says that "a worthless man devises mischief, and in his lips there is a scorching fire." Notice the language “in his” lips and not “on his lips.” The words of a mischievous and careless person have a dragon’s fire within them that longs to come out and create pain in others, but it ends up creating pain in ourselves as well. Such actions have spiritual consequences. James’ audience, like Jesus’ audience when he spoke about hell, would have had pictures of Gehenna in their mind. Gehenna, though it carries this eternal hell representation within in it, was a literal place on the southwest side of Jerusalem. It was a place in which fire was always burning. It means the "valley of wailing." It was a dirty place and a place of death. It was in this place that evil happened. This is the place where some of the bad kings of Israel sacrificed children to other Gods in fire. The Prophets said God would do the same to them. The fires that the kings started would one day consume them. Think about that. James is saying the words we use to consume others will one day consume us. Scholars have debated if it also was a trash heap or not, but that is based on a Jewish scholar made about 1200 AD. In the little research I did among Jewish thought, this area was thought to represent an eternal state by Jewish mystics and sages where we were refined in the worlds we create. Again, the point to take away is that the words we speak will bring life or death to others, but ultimately also to ourselves.
James makes his points again. We have made zoos and aquariums. We have sailed the seven seas and explored the ends of the earth. Roads and technology have been spread across the globe and yet 4.86% of our body rules how we live, and as he started, keeps us from achieving perfection, keeps us in the realization that we all stumble.
It is this same tongue that we sinfully and evilly cut down others, dart out death statements, and start painful fires that keep burning, that we also use to try to sing praise to God, pray to God, and proclaim God’s name with. James’ paradox is evident. How can something be used for good and bad? How can something praise and curse? How can something worship God, but fail to worship the image of God that is seen in others? I love James’ heartfelt call in this part of his statement, “My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” We live in a time that hates to be challenged sometimes, or to have someone criticize something we are doing. James holds no punches back, he clearly calls this sin, and calls it something we should not do. Again using the imagery of their day, and countryside, he says neither can fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring. Neither can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear figs. These plants were among the most common agricultural products of their area. It would be like us saying that corn cannot grow pumpkins, nor pumpkins grow apples.
James’ main point for me is in this realization: We cannot worship God and curse others, because others carry the image and maybe even the name of God. To judge, gossip, and carelessly speak about or to others, is a mistreatment to God. Remember Jesus' parable teaching in Matthew 25:40, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’" That is something I need to keep before me. The way I think I keep that before me is remembering James’ opening line, “We all stumble in many ways.” As long as I can’t keep my body in check, because it is steered by 4.86% of my body, then I have no place to do anything but acknowledge God in worship and acknowledge where I see God at play in the lives of around me. My tongue must speak life, speak of the places it sees the image of God in others, speak nothing but lifegiving, faith giving, delivering hope.
Jesus told us in his life and ministry, that a time has now come when "true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." Spirit, in the things of God, and truth, the way our hearts and lives obediently live into the ways of the Kingdom. James tells us, that true worship comes from a mouth that is undefiled, speaking life is a way the wants us to "walk this way."
As William Barclay says, “Whenever the name of God was mentioned, a Jew had to respond: ‘Blessed be he!’ Three times a day, devout Jews had to repeat the Shemoneh Esreh, the famous eighteen prayers called Eulogies, every one of which begins: ‘Blessed be thou, O God.’ God was indeed eulogētos, the Blessed One, the one who was continually blessed. And yet the very mouths and tongues which had frequently and piously blessed God were the very same mouths and tongues which cursed their neighbours. To James, there was something unnatural about this; it was as unnatural as for a stream to gush out both fresh and salt water or a bush to bear different kinds of fruit. Unnatural and wrong such things might be, but they were tragically common.”[1] Our job as Christians is to steward our life so that this is not common, so that we don’t open the doors to evil, so that we are bringing the life of the kingdom of God (God’s rule and reign) in all we do.
In Pilgrims Progress, John Bunyan tells us of Talkative: ‘He was a saint abroad and a devil at home.[2] This is so true. Many individuals exhibit impeccable politeness when interacting with strangers and often advocate for love and kindness. However, these same individuals frequently display impatience and irritability towards their own families, friends, and coworkers. This discrepancy highlights the challenge of consistently practicing the virtues we espouse, especially in our most intimate relationships where our true character is often revealed.
As we reflect on the teachings of James and the words of Jesus, we are reminded of the profound power our speech holds. Our words can build up or tear down, bring life or death, reflect our faith or betray our struggles. Jesus' teachings call us to steward our speech with humility and grace, understanding that the state of our heart directly influences the words we speak.
Practical Takeaways for Monday Morning
1. Find a Way to Pause Before Speaking: Journal (be still and know)Take a moment to pause and reflect before you speak, especially in moments of frustration or anger. Ask yourself if your words will bring life or harm.
2. Find a way to Remember to Practice Empathy: (Give me Jesus Goggles)Try to see situations from the perspective of others, especially those close to you. This empathy can transform your reactions from irritability to understanding.
3. Make it a point to Speak with Encouragement (ICNU): Make a conscious effort to speak words of encouragement and affirmation to your family, friends, and coworkers. Acknowledge their efforts and express gratitude.
4. Find a Way to Apologize when you miss the mark.
As we hear James say, “walk this way,” in James 3:2-12, we see his invitation to watch our words, to keep humility in our heart, and this passage vividly illustrates the power of the tongue and while you and I have tamed many things in the world, kids and dogs and cats and horses, the tongue remains a restless evil, full of deadly poison. This passage challenges us to recognize the inconsistency in using the same tongue to both praise God and curse our fellow human beings made in God's likeness. It reminds us that 4.86%
Jesus emphasizes that our speech is a reflection of our heart. In Luke 6:45, He teaches, "For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." Therefore, the stewardship of our speech begins with the stewardship of our hearts. As we fill our hearts with God's love, grace, and truth, our words will naturally reflect these virtues. Find the root of what is causing you to jump to negativity.
The tongue, 4.86% of our body, cannot control us. Don’t miss out on what God wants to do in with and through you because you can’t tame the tongue. Don’t lose sight that we are all broken and stumbling around.
[1] William Barclay, The Letters of James and Peter, 3rd ed. fully rev. and updated., The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003), 103–104.
[2] William Barclay, The Letters of James and Peter, 3rd ed. fully rev. and updated., The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003), 104.
