A Slip of the Tongue
(James 3: 1-12)
If election cycles are nothing else, they are entertaining, especially in the age of the internet where nothing, NOTHING, is forgotten or goes away. A slip of the tongue, if recorded, lives on in perpetuity. Let’s say that you aspire to run for some sort of public office, you know, city council, school board, dog catcher or any other office that draws an opponent, and before you know it amateur internet sleuths are combing your social media page for embarrassing posts that can now prove even more embarrassing in the context of your not-so-well laid plans of public service or climbing the political ladder to greater heights. My friend Richard Kennedy used to say that if you’re explaining, you’re losing. You’re spending so much time explaining what you meant by some past intentional or unintentional comment that you can’t talk about the issues, if you have any. We’re seeing that play out even now in our national political races where candidates and those who support them find themselves on the hot seat trying to explain some previously made comment that runs counter to what they are saying or advocating for now. They find themselves feeling the heat which, more often than not was ignited by something they said. There is a great quote that has been attributed to several people, including Abraham Lincoln who probably got it from someone else that goes: “Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.” I even said it at the conclusion of a successful court case when the judge asked me if there was anything I’d like to add after she dismissed the charges against my client, not wanting to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, I remained silent. Those little slips of the tongue can ignite a firestorm that leaves nothing but charred remains once finally extinguished.
And it’s those slips of the tongue, our inability to control what we say, that James is writing about in our scripture reading for today. As I previously said before we started our little sermon series on James, the best way to read this book is as if it was a letter written personally to you. So, where he says “my brothers and sisters” insert your own name as if James is speaking directly to you. For example, let’s say that James starts out chapter three by saying: So, Scott, you should probably not consider becoming a teacher because we know that we teachers will be judged more strictly. Back during James’ day teaching was a highly valued and respected profession in Jewish culture and many Jews who embraced Christianity wanted to become teachers. As a teacher himself James is especially concerned about the dangers of speech and he warns that although it is good to aspire to teach, the teacher’s responsibility is great because their words and examples affect others’ spiritual lives. He says: We all make mistakes often, but those who don’t make mistakes with their words have reached full maturity. What I think he is saying is that those who know how to control their thoughts, to keep their thoughts to themselves, and only speak when their words matter, are those people who either have uncommon restraint and judgment, or like me, have learned the hard way to hold my tongue or suffer the consequences. My prepared sermons on Sunday morning are all outlined much like a teleprompter, and it is when I go off script that I come close to inartfully saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. James likens it to how easily it is controlling a bridled horse, that when a horse is bridled and a bit placed in its mouth the whole body can be controlled. As another example, he says to consider the ships of the sea that are so large that strong winds are needed to drive them, but pilots direct them wherever they want with a little rudder. In the same way, he says, even though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts wildly. And then he gets to his point when he says: Think about this: A small flame can set a whole forest on fire. The tongue is a small flame of fire, a world of evil at work in us. To emphasize how serious he is James states that an uncontrolled tongue contaminates our entire lives and because of it, the circle of life is set on fire. I get the feeling that James might be speaking from personal experience or, at the very least, being close to someone who started a wildfire with their imprudent words. I’ve been there, I’ve done that, and I’ve got the T-shirt to show for it. About the time you think the fire has died down and has been extinguished, there is a small burning ember just waiting for some oxygen so it can rekindle itself and continue its path of destruction. To underscore his point James states that people can tame and already have tamed every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish, yet no one can tame the tongue. He describes the tongue as a restless evil, full of deadly poison. At this point, I begin wondering to myself what was going on to cause James to put his concerns down on paper to be circulated to the twelve tribes of Israel. Were some scholarly religious teachers promoting a theology that was contrary to the scriptures and the teachings of Jesus Christ? Were there charlatans running rampant like our present-day evangelicals espousing their version of a religious doctrine to support their political agendas, to advance their ideals of White-Christian Nationalism, that our forefathers always intended America to be a Christian nation? And we wonder why people don’t come to church.
James wonders how we can both bless the Lord and Father and also curse human beings who were made in God’s likeness with the same tongue. He says: Blessing and cursing come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, it just shouldn’t be this way! He’s right. It doesn’t have to be this way, but it’s not going to change or even remotely get any better unless we take the lead in guarding what we say and don’t say. As Christians, as Followers of the Way of Jesus Christ, we cannot let our words cast doubts upon our service to and worship of the God of all who created us in His image. Our devotion to Jesus Christ requires that we keep the world from contaminating us. Unfortunately for many of us, we were contaminated long before we came to accept and love Christ. It’s in us and is fighting to come out. That’s how evil works. It works best when it causes a good person to fall short of the glory of God. The source of our defilement isn’t out there among a set of people to avoid, it is in us, and like the tiny rudder of a great ship it has the power to control our every move and run us up upon the rocks. Speech is a primary means by which double-mindedness is manifest; one moment we are praising God, and the next we find ourselves tearing down a fellow human being who. like us, was made in the image of God.
What we say and what we don’t say are both important. Proper speech is not only saying the right words at the right time, but it is also controlling what we desire to say when we shouldn’t. Some things are actually better left unsaid. Idle and hateful words are damaging because they spread destruction quickly, and no one can stop the results once they are spoken. A few words spoken in anger can destroy a relationship that may have taken years to build. Just look at how many relationships have been irreparably damaged because of our current state of politics. Now, you may be thinking to yourself that you aren’t that type of a person and that you do a pretty good job of refraining from this type of harmful speech but consider some of the examples of an untamed tongue that can take on a life of its own such as gossiping, putting others down, bragging, manipulating, false teaching, exaggerating, complaining, flattering, and lying, just to mention a few. I won’t ask for a show of hands from any of you who may want to admit to at least one or two of these forms of harmful speech because I would have to raise my hand too.
I know, it does seem hopeless, especially when we try so hard only to have someone else set a match to what we are trying to accomplish in Jesus’ name. But remember, we have the Holy Spirit on our side who will give us increasing power to monitor and control what we say so that we won’t add fuel to the fire. I think the key to controlling our tongue is for us to keep our eyes on the bigger picture. What is more important, winning the argument or working to save the soul of God’s creation? And when we are offended by what someone else says the Spirit will remind us of God’s love, and we will refrain from reacting in a hateful and harmful manner. And when we are criticized, when we are the focus of hurtful and harmful speech, the Spirit will heal the hurt so we can move on. It’s God who works to change us from the inside out, and when the Spirit purifies our hearts, he gives us that much-needed self-control so that we will instead speak words that please God rather than displease him with a slip of the tongue in his name.
Let us pray.
Loving Father, we praise you for your marvelous grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt, a grace that works to make us better, a grace that picks us up when we fall. Keep us mindful of the awesome responsibility it is to lead Christ-like lives that bring your light and love into the world. Guide us by your Spirit to be mindful of what we do and say as our slips of the tongue not only diminish us, but they detract from our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. May our lives in Christ be a beacon to those who are searching for a better way of living, to living a life that is free from guilt and sin. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.