James 3:1-6

March 24, 2008

As you read today's passage, look for these words or phrases: teachers, horses, ships, tongue, and fire.


Passage for the day: James 3:1-6 (NASB)


1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.
2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.
3 Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well.
4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.
5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!
6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.



Questions for thought: Take a few moments to answer these questions before you go on to the next section.


Why are teachers held to a stricter judgment?


Look at the examples of horses and ships in verses 3-4. You can bridle and lead horse, and you can steer, but how do you bridle or control your tongue?



James uses the example of a little fire that starts out small, but quickly turns into a blaze that destroys and wreaks havoc on anything in its path. How can someone use their tongue to do this kind of damage to others? In other words, what are your words capable of doing?



Read verse 6 again. What is the tongue compared to? What is it capable of doing to you?




CHEW ON THIS:

James begins the third chapter by talking about those who desire to teach. He is not telling us that desiring to teach is wrong or sinful – only that those who teach are going to be held accountable by God. We know that all of us will be held accountable by God for our lives, but James’ message here is those who teach will be judged with even greater severity. But what kind of judgment, you may ask? We are left without an answer, since James does not say. However, it serves as a warning shot to all of us who are teaching the Word of God – God is not absent, but is watching us and will keep us accountable.

The next statement is all-inclusive: everyone stumbles and sins in many ways, falling short of what is taught and required by the Lord. This statement balances the warning of the previous verse. Even teachers stumble at times – as well as those who do not teach. James wants us to keep all of this in perspective so that we will learn control our tongues.

This leads us into the next section, which contains some very powerful and graphic illustrations of the tongue. The tongue is compared to a ship and a horse. A controlled tongue is like the bit under the horse’s tongue by which the rider controls the entire horse. Just as the rider can control the horse, the body’s willfulness and appetites can be controlled. Though a horse is much larger than a human being, the rider is able to make the horse obey by employing a small, simple device. As we have learned already in James, it is wisdom from God that provides the capacity for bringing usefulness out of these things, whether they are the physical body, institutions, or movements of people. Only if the Word of God is actively applied to the situation will there be the guidance required for virtuous action and beneficial results.

The bringing under control of a very large object by a small but effective instrument hardly could have been better expressed than by the analogy of the ship and the rudder. Against the wind an immense, rudderless boat is uncontrollable. Out on the sea, without a mechanism for steering, the pilot would have no way of keeping the ship on any course. The ship would be tossed and driven with the wind and the waves. But with the rudder, the will of the pilot is sufficient to direct the ship.

James pointed to the small size of the rudder. Like the small bit in the horse’s mouth, the rudder, James said, is among the smallest of instruments on the ship. The rudder’s size is insignificant by comparison to the rest of the parts of the ship. The effectiveness of the instrument is what counts. Even in the harshest winds the boat will turn in the direction the pilot desires. The tongue, representing the believer’s speech, is not easily mastered. But the tongue must be mastered by acquiring the great skills of wisdom through careful and diligent study of God’s Word. Only by such study can the skill to face the great issues of life be obtained.

However, as James tells us, if our tongue is uncontrolled and left to do as it pleases, evil speech will result. As such, evil speech proves its true nature as an extension of hell itself! In a most powerful image, the fire that is the little tongue, a little spark that causing great fires and destruction, has its source from the wickedness of hell. This should cause us to re-evaluate our speech and how we are using our tongues. Just as the tongue has the power to destroy, it also has great power to build up and encourage!

How are you using your tongue today? Let's seek to build each other up with our tongues today instead of using it to destroy!


For His Name,

Pastor Stephen