James says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes.”
Given that, I have to tell you that in the subdued, reflective state that I have been in lately, it is hard for me not to tell you all of the times that I have said something stupid and hurtful to other people. In particular, I could probably go in to detail about all of the times that I have said something completely idiotic right here from the pulpit. I am glad that I have smart congregation members who can tell the difference between Jira Albers and Jesus Christ, not that that is very hard. I cannot even grow a beard.
So, I am not going to list all of the times I have said dumb, hurtful things, because that will just launch you into recounting times that you have done the same, and I know that we all want to be to lunch at a reasonable time. Yes, I know that you could share the same also because James bluntly states, “All of us make many mistakes.”
It is true. All of us make many mistakes. But, we cannot just leave it right there. We cannot just throw up our hands and agree that everyone is an idiot and no one knows anything at all, because that just simply is not true. I happen to know a lot about the book of Matthew in the Bible. You could say that I am sort of an expert on the book of Matthew. So, it would be throwing away a gift of knowledge from God for me to not open my mouth.
But, do you know what I will not talk about? I will not ever talk about how microchips function. Why? Because, I have no clue. My smart phone is just a little box of video magic for all I know.
Nor will I talk about what it is like to be poor in the Congo, or pretty much dirt poor in any other nation in the world. Why? Because, I have no idea what it is like, or what the challenges these people face. I cannot speak for them, nor can I formulate even a basic plan regarding how to overcome any of their problems. Sometimes, the best thing that you can do in a conversation is to simply be silent.
Early on in the show, the Good Place, you meet this Buddhist monk who finds himself in paradise along with other good people. Even in eternity he keeps his vow of silence, and in doing so comes across as wise, peace-filled, and all-knowing. Then, the vow breaks and we get to hear the words of his tongue. He should have kept his mouth shut, because we discover he is no closer to wisdom than anyone else.
Surely you have heard the phrase, "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt."
Similar to this phrase is the wisdom that I was given regarding being a Christ-like presence for people who are suffering. “98 percent of caring for another person in grief or emotional distress is listening, and the other 2 percent is not saying something stupid.”
How true this is though. Once someone with a good heart came up to woman in grief, wrapped their arms around her shoulders and remarked, “Well, at least he is in a better place.” Do you know what the woman snapped back? “You know what would be a better place? Is him being healthy right next to me!” The scene was just a mess of grief and tongues that did not know what to say.
Oh, how strong the unbridled tongue can be! James says that the tongue is like the very small rudder on a ship. With even a small movement of that little rudder, the pilot can move a large ship wherever he desires. With the small movement of the tongue, an entire nation can go to war. With the small movement of the tongue, people who were once friends for years can be divided in mere seconds. With a small movement of the tongue you can go from being at the height of your career to crashing into joblessness.
“How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire!” James teaches. “And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”
How true James, how true.
If you have not found a way to tame your own tongue, than there is no hope that you are going to be able to tame the misguided and lying tongue of your brother-in-law’s cousin’s uncle over the course of a conversation on social media. Sometimes, it is just best to let it go and scroll on. After-all, it is Jesus who reminds us in Matthew 15:11 that “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” Just do not let it come out in the first place.
Sometimes, the best biblical advice I can give to someone is to just be quiet and let it go. After-all, James reminds us that we will all eventually say something that we will regret.
And, that could be a nice and tidy sermon right there. “Go in peace, don’t say something stupid!” But, James does not stop right there. He cannot stop right there, because God does not stop right there. Jesus does not tell us to follow him right into a closed room where we cannot possibly inflict any tongue lashing damage upon the world. After Jesus death and resurrection, it is Jesus who enters the locked room of the fearful disciples and encourages them to believe, and leave, and live.
Never forget, just as evil comes from the tongue, so does good. The good news of resurrection and forgiveness and new life is preached from the tongue.
James says, “With [the tongue] we bless the Lord and Father.” With our tongues we sing praises to God. With our tongues, poetry drips words that paint and recreate God’s beautiful creation. With our tongues, love is professed from balconies and forgiveness is granted. From the cross, Jesus gives the repentant thief words that heal in a time of torture, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
Of course, Jesus could have cursed the thief for a wasted life. “A little late to come around huh?” Jesus could have rightly said that. He could have, as James says, cursed “those who are made in the likeness of God.” But, he did not, because they rea people made in the likeness of God. They are loved by God. And, the tongue is a gift from God that is intended to bring God’s blessing, not a curse.
In reality we use it to both bless and curse, but James hopes that it might not be so. “Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water?” Of course not! “Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs?” Ridiculous! “No more can salt water yield fresh.”
So, how do we know if the words rolling off of our tongues come from the heart or belong in the sewer? Well, if you are a friend of God, and not a friend of the world, then you will remember that the Bible says that “God is love.” And, if God is love, then love dictates anything that the tongue says.
The apostle Paul says it the best:
“If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. (1 Corinthians: 13:1-8)
May Christ use your tongue to speak the word
of love that never ends.
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