LIFE APP – Taming the Tongue
James 3:1-12 (p. 848) September 28, 2014
Introduction:
“In the ‘Wizard of Oz’ when the scarecrow speaks to Dorothy, she is amazed and asks, “him how he can talk when his brain is made of straw. The Scarecrow replies, “That many people talk a great deal who haven’t got any brain at all!”
Like this guy:
It was his first day on the job. He was a new clerk in the green goods department of a super market. A lady came up to him and said she wanted to buy half of a head of lettuce. He tried to dissuade her from that goal, but she persisted. Finally he said, “I’ll have to go back and talk to the manager.” He went to the rear of the store to talk to the manager, not noticing that the woman was walking right behind him. When he got into the back of the store, he said to the manager, “There’s some stupid old bag out there who wants to buy half a head of lettuce. What should I tell her?” Seeing the horrified look on the face of the manager, he turned about and, seeing the woman, added, “And this nice lady wants to buy the other half of head of lettuce. Will it be all right?” Considerably relieved, the manager said, “That would be fine.” Later in the day, he congratulated the boy on his quick thinking. He then asked, “Where are you from, son?” The boy said, “I’m from Lexington, KY the home of amazing basketball players and ugly women.” The manager looked at him and said, “Son! My wife’s from Lexington, KY!” The boy said, “Oh, what team did she play for?”
Sometimes you can recover from a slip of the tongue, other times damage is so severe it devastates families and relationships for a lifetime.
You remember growing up hearing, “sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never hurt me?”
The problem with that is it’s a lie...the emotional, and sometimes spiritual damage created by words, “some of them set on fire by Hell itself,” creates devastation harder to heal than any broken arm.
Left unhealed it’s a restless evil...a serpent ready to strike with deadly poison.
You see words reveal the truth of our hearts...words and how we use them reveal who we are at our core...when God came to earth, John’s gospel says “In the beginning was the Word (logos), and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” (v. 1)
And then (v. 14) miraculously records the incarnation of God, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us...”
Want to hear God speak clearly about who He is...”It’s in His Word...in the flesh...dwelling among us...revealing truth and grace.”
Maybe that’s why Jesus, the Logos, the Word said,
MATTHEW 12:33-37 (p. 683)
Pretty clear right? How do you tell what’s in a person’s heart...good or evil...It’s the fruit of their words. It’s our words that acquit us...or condemn us.
And that’s especially true for teachers...
I. SAYING YOU KNOW TRUTH REQUIRES YOU TRY TO LIVE TRUTH
James says, “Not many of you should become teachers my fellow believers because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly...And then James pours out honestly...“We all stumble in many ways.”
James is writing to those who would lead, mentor, share the truth of what following God is all about, would open the Word of God and themselves and say “here’s what God is saying and asking.” Here’s what it means to apply God’s truth to your life.
James says “we who teach” so he is putting himself in this category.
And he is clearly saying “real teaching of truth requires that the teacher apply it to their lives...or they’ll be judged more strictly...by their students...and by their God.
It’s a vulnerability that says...”we all stumble in many ways...I stumble in many ways! But I’m a learner...a student...and I’m trying to apply truth to my life...as you apply it to yours!
It’s why James says in Chapter four: “God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble.” (4:6)
Teaching because you want power, or influence...or control means you haven’t come to a place where you understand why God gave you a voice and truth...“for where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every evil practice.” (v. 16)
The best NT example of this kind of teaching is found in the Pharisees who “did not practice what they preached.” (Matt. 23:3) Everything they did was for people to see...they loved places of honor, they loved to be greeted with respect and to be called “teacher” (Rabbi) by others (Matt. 23:5-7) and then Jesus says, “The greatest among you will be your servant...for those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Matt. 23:11-12)
[I worked at Bluegrass Christian Camp as the lifeguard the summer after my conversion to Christ. And when I got there Ralph Byers showed me the pool, and the pump room. It was filthy...filled with trash, chlorine containers...and the door was overcome with weeds. He said, “I’d like you to start your job by cleaning up this room. So I went and changed...it was stiffling hot in that pump room. I thought it was a horrible job...but the best lesson I learned was when Mr. Byers came back dressed in his work clothes and helped me get the place spotless. Leaders...real leaders, don’t just say “Go!” They say “Let’s go.”]
James and Jesus simply say...if you’re going to say you have truth to share...share it...humbly in relationship with your learners...admit you’re still learning truth, and to speak truth humbly. You haven’t perfected it yet either...you still depend humbly on God...to keep the ship under control...to use fire for warmth and not destruction...to praise God and not curse people.
True leaders in their homes, their church, their families and their relationships with friend and foe understand the power of their words...no human being has ever learned to tame the tongue.
James also says:
II. WORDS CAN GIVE FOCUS AND DIRECTION
You ever heard someone start a conversation and you think...“I know where this is going?” That’s what words do...they take us emotionally to places.
Like a bit in a horse’s mouth...or the rudder on a big ship...they steer both wherever the pilot wants to go.
Whether the pilot wants to head to a destructive place, or a healing encouraging place.
Words are like magnets...if someone is gossiping or engaging in unhealthy conversation...part of us is pulled to it. It’s secret knowledge. It gives us a feeling of superiority. (I know individuals that have lived their entire lives trying to make themselves feel better about themselves by tearing others down...and it never works.)
“The mouth of fools are their undoing and their lips are a snare to their very lives...the words of a gossip are like choice morsels.” (Proverbs 18:7-8)
A snare’s a trap. Once you’re caught in it, it’s hard to get out. Once you start a life where you gossip, or eat the morsels of people’s hurts and struggles as entertainment...it’s hard to get free...maybe impossible without the power of the Holy Spirit...Start in this direction and it’s a snowball of “self-loathing” covered in the disguise of superiority. And it’s controlled by Satan himself according to James.
But careful words...thoughtful words...encouraging words lift people up, help them see a path of hope, even affect their eternal destinies since “faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ.”
You have to hear the gospel...the good news before you can respond to it in faith. It’s always heard through a messenger.
ROMANS 10:14, 15, 17 (p. 788)
The gospel changes “potheads” into preachers and fishermen into missionaries. The power of the gospel message heals the broken, releases the captive, and gives purpose and meaning to the hopeless.
I love it when people catch fire with the excitement of the gospel. It’s almost always from grateful people who have met the Savior at a place where they’re dying of thirst and He offers living water. It’s at a place where they expect to be hit by rocks but are offered forgiveness instead.
You see real evangelists don’t have funky hair and a TV show...they have a van that picks up kids, a heart filled with love and affection for the church...They spend more time with lost people than “church” people...and they pray for opportunities to “share the Word about Jesus and how He’s changing their lives.”
What James says is so damaging to the cause is:
III. PEOPLE WHO SEND MIXED MESSAGES
[With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing...my brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? Can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.]
It’s ironic isn’t it...that James...the half brother of Jesus, is writing to the 1st generation of believers, brothers and sisters...about the most cancerous situation that still plagues the church today.
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” (Mark 3:25)
Satan knows these words spoken by Jesus...and he knows they’re true.
Churches never lose their power and influence in the world because they praise too much or love the gospel too much. Churches die and become unhealthy because preferences become more important than praise....and the salt water of selfishness and discord begins to dilute the living water of the Holy Spirit.
In a room filled with 3 people there will be 3 different preferences. In a room filled with just you there is only 1 preference...but it’s a very lonely room!
You can always tell whether someone in Christ is seeking to live a life of praise...because it gushes out of them like fresh living water...even in the midst of trial and persecution there is a focus on God...The word worship means “worth ship.” Ascribing worth and honor to another. It’s never about us...it’s always about honoring God. When this pours out of a born again Spirit filled believer’s life it attracts even those who don’t know God.
But James says you can also know that someone has polluted the fresh spring of Holy Spirit living water with the salt water of criticism and discontentment with another person...it also pours out of them...But salt water doesn’t provide life and refreshment...salt water kills what it’s put on.
The greatest hypocrisy for the child of God is when we sing praises to God on Sunday morning and then we tear down another person on Sunday night.
Words not only affect our relationship with God, but they affect every relationship we have with people.
[I remember being called “scarface” and “Frankenstein” in grade school and Middle school because of the burns I suffered when I was 10...and although I’m an adult know (kind of) when I think of those instances it still grieves my spirit, and it’s been 44 years.
Words are important...what we say and how we say them affect people’s lives, like fresh water on a plant in the desert or salt water on a flower in your front yard.
What makes the water flow...it’s our motive...it’s our heart.
I always wonder growing up if I would find a girl that could look past the scars on my face...real truth folks...and then I met Kari. We dated for 2 ½ years before we got married, really tried to make God a priority in our relationship...still do. I asked her about my scars one day and she said, “I love you...I don’t even see them anymore.”
When we begin to love other people with the love of Christ their flaws, their scars and imperfections begin to disappear...as they are covered in His grace.]
Let’s pray.
