Word's Hurt

by Chris Watkins - Student Minister

James 3:1-12

Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body. Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we direct their whole bodies. And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.

 

It seems that I can not go a day without seeing someone post something on social media that causes division or shares disdain about others. I would love to just pass it off as people that are outside of the faith, but oftentimes it is people that I have gone to church with or know from some point in my life that I believe have placed their trust in Jesus.

 

In our student ministry midweek services, we have started to walk through James’s letter. In a couple weeks, we will start in James 3 where we are met with this understanding that the tongue is the hardest to tame compared to other parts of our body and other animals. Our tongue…

 

I love the illustration of the bit in a horse's mouth and even the idea of a rudder on a ship. Small items that control so much for those things. A bit allows for us to direct horses where to go and a rudder can direct an entire cruise ship. But when we think of the power of the tongue it can direct armies, it can lead people to safety, it most importantly can be used to give God glory as James shared. And yet, we for thousands of years, have allowed our tongues to cause division and unrest in ours and others lives.

 

Here in 2024, we have gotten to a point that for many we do not talk on the phone or in person as much as we use our fingers to text, email, and post on social media platforms. So the question I’m left pondering is, are our fingers the new tongue that we need to tame as believers in Jesus. Many, I’m sure, would say that we do not use our words to hurt people, but put us behind a screen where we can type there is a distance that makes us feel more comfortable to send hurtful things. With this being a time where the nation and the world want to divide groups, let’s make sure as brothers and sisters in Christ, we live Holy, set apart lives. Let us not look like the world around us in the way we talk and the way we post.