Speaking of the tongue . . .

I did not want to do this Bible study I had to do on James 3:1-12 on “Taming the Tongue.” Why? Because I am inclined to talk back, brag, lie, shade the truth, argue, yell, make sarcastic or cutting remarks . . . stuff like that. My tongue betrays who I really am, angry or not, like it or not. “In Scripture, the tongue is variously described as wicked, deceitful, perverse, filthy, corrupt, flattering, slanderous, gossiping, blasphemous, foolish, boasting, complaining, cursing, contentious, sensual, and vile. And that list is not exhaustive. No wonder God put the tongue in a cage behind the teeth, walled in by the mouth! Not surprisingly, the tongue is of great concern to James, being mentioned in every chapter of his letter (see 1:19, 26; 2:12; 3:5, 6, 8; 4:11; 5:12).”[i]

“My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment” (3:1). Suddenly the teacher becomes the student! Adam Clark provides some insight, “There are multitudes, whom God has never called, and never can call, because he has never qualified them for the work, who earnestly wish to get into the priest’s office.” Remember, James is writing to “my brethren” and is warning them that to become a teacher is to set oneself up to “receive a stricter judgment.” While the office of teacher or master (someone once translated didaskalos as “doctor”) is a noble one, those who desire the office need calling, maturity, and education rather than just stepping up and clogging the fellowship with sincerity and good intentions, opening the door to erroneous teaching.

Man is an anomaly. We are able to do what nothing else in this universe can do. Can you guess what it is? It is actually something that is rooted in the way we are made, namely how we function as creation in God’s image: as God created with language, man is able to be creative with language. After God created by speaking everything into existence, He named everything except the animals. Man got to be creative with language, and man still is creative with language, doing the impossible. Because man is sinful is able to do two things with his tongue: bless and curse.

One reading of James 3 could lead one to think that if man did not speak he would be perfect. The fact of the matter is, tongue or no tongue, man is. The root of evil speech is not in the tongue, but the heart—evil just manifests itself strongly in language. Though fallen, man continues to be creative with language. Jesus said, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” (Mark 7:20-23). Just look at how the heart manifests itself in literature!

I have a garden out back where grows tomatoes, lettuce, peas, cucumbers, peppers, turnips, radishes, squash, a few sunflowers. Could you imagine my surprise to go out to pick tomatoes and find Brussels sprouts growing on the tomato bush? Or Zucchini coming out of sunflowers? Impossible, you say? It should be when one considers what is accomplished with the tongue! If from our fount comes both sweet and bitter water, why cannot nature imitate such impossibilities?

I once heard a guy spill buckets of vulgarity and someone had the wherewithal to say quite loudly, “Is that the same mouth you kiss yer momma with?” Talk about blushing with embarrassment! I like Ray Comfort’s approach to cursing that really opens the door for evangelism. Hearing a man use God’s name as a curse word, Ray interrupted and said, “Excuse me, is this religious service?” Someone else replied, “Hell, no!” [Can Christians say, “hell?”] Ray answered back, “It is now!” and he began to share Christ with them!

The tongue is a fire! Because of a rumor, Abraham Lincoln’s tomb was opened twice. Twenty years after his assassination, Lincoln’s grave was opened because someone started a story that his coffin was empty. Witnesses on hand observed that the rumor was false and the coffin was resealed with lead. Fourteen years later, even more witnesses viewed the body again . . . because someone spread a rumor that his grave was empty! Because of someone’s wagging tongue, Abraham Lincoln’s body was exposed twice after his death and not for forensics purposes, but curiosity![ii]

James says no man can tame the tongue, but Psalm 141:3 says, “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.” And Prov 21:23 says, “He who guards his mouth and his tongue, guards his soul from troubles.” Can the tongue be tamed? Not by man. David prays to the Lord to set guard, to watch over his mouth and to make such a prayer is to work in accordance with the desire for godliness, guarding the soul from trouble! No man can tame the tongue, but he can certainly turn it over to its maker for safe-keeping!

“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Ro 6:12-14)

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh,” (Gal 5:16).

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[i]MacArthur, John. James: Guildelines for a Happy Christian Life. MacArthur Bible studies, Page 62. Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group, 2001.
[ii] Swindoll, Chuck. Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life. Portland: Multnomah, 1983.