This is a copy of my talk given at Ayia Kyriaki and Saint Stephen’s in the Anglican Church of Paphos on Sunday 15 September 2024. The Bible reading was James 3:1-12
Prayer
Heavenly Father
I thank You for Your word
By the power of the Holy Spirit
May You speak to my heart
And change my life
In the precious name of Jesus I pray
Amen.
Introduction
On Saturday 24 June 1899, four journalists Al Stevens, Jack Tournay, John Lewis and Hal Wilshire, met by accident at a railway station in Denver, USA. They were reporters for the four main Denver newspapers, and they had been sent out to find a story for the Sunday editions – but they hadn’t found anything newsworthy. One of them joked they should make up a story and so they went off to a hotel to discuss the idea.
They decided they should think up a whopper of story which all four newspapers could carry. It couldn’t be an American story, since it would be all too easy to check up on. It would need to be a story about somewhere where no-one could check. John Lewis came up with the idea – they would write that a group of American engineers were stopping the night in Denver enroute to China. The Chinese government, they would say, is planning to pull down the Great Wall of China and these American engineers are bidding for the job. Why would the Chinese want to pull down the Great Wall? To symbolise international good will and to welcome foreign trade.
The next morning the Denver Times carried this headline: ‘Old Wall Must Go.’
The next week, the story was taken up by the major American newspapers, and then by newspapers abroad. It was a phoney story, but it was to have a devastating effect. When the Chinese discovered that the Americans were planning to ‘destroy the Great Wall’ many were enraged – especially the revolutionaries who attacked foreign embassies in Peking, killing foreign missionaries alongside many Christians. Within two months an international army of 19,000 troops joined forces and invaded China to protect their own people. The bloodshed which followed became known as the Boxer Rebellion, in which many lost their lives, all started by four journalists in Denver making up a ‘fake news’ story on a Saturday night over a few drinks.
I guess each one of us could give a story about how something we have said has gone horribly wrong. We have all dug a hole for ourselves at some point.
James has already told us in 1:26 that the ability to tame the tongue is one of the marks of the true Christian, and it’s that topic that James raises here in chapter 3 where I think we discover several points that will both challenge us and spur us on:
- So, You Want To Be A Preacher? vs 1-2
Vs1: Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. Why does James start his teaching on the tongue with a reference to people who teach the Bible? Because those who have been entrusted to speak God’s message to the church have a great responsibility. They are handling the very Word of God, and the way they do it is with their mouths. But with responsibility comes accountability. So, James says, teachers will be judged more strictly. Their work will be tested and evaluated on judgement day.
Now I have to admit this is the sort of verse which keeps me awake at night, literally. I think every preacher has those night time vigils when they lie awake worrying about something they’ve said, a phrase mis-spoken, a passage poorly taught, a word said in jest. I’m sometimes asked if I am nervous before preaching. I am. Not so much of a large congregation (I love a crowd) but because of the responsibility of teaching God’s Word. And I pray that God would never let me get complacent of that.
John Chrysostom is known as the Patron Saint of Preachers.
The public speaker (church leader, politician, CEO) wields great power which can either be used for ill or good. Take Churchill and Hitler as examples. Both were men who knew how to speak with power and with great charisma. Churchill used his gifts to rally a nation to stand firm in adversity. Hitler used his gifts to rally a nation to take over the world. One used his gifts, we may argue, for good, the other, for ill.
More recently, President Trump has caused a furore in Springfield, USA with his comments about migrants eating cats and dogs and how this statement has affected the wider community.
Every one of us is guilty of misusing our tongue in one way or another. We’re human. Vs2: For all of us make mistakes. If anyone is never at fault in what they say, he/she is perfect and able to keep their whole body in check. I’d love to meet such a perfect person, wouldn’t you?
Don’t desire a teaching responsibility in the church, says James, because you’re setting yourself up for greater judgement.
- Understand The Power Of The Tongue vs 3-8
Abraham Lincoln once said: ‘I would rather remain silent and be thought a fool, than speak out and remove all doubt.’
Do our words cause division or healing, are they used to slander and gossip or full of grace, joy and optimism? Are our words used positively or negatively? Is your tongue a fire starter or a soothing balm? James wants us to understand the power of the tongue and he gives us three helpful illustrations to help us understand this:
Small but Strong vs 3-4. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Horses are strong beasts and yet can be controlled by just a small bit in the mouth. And with that bit a person who is a fraction of the size of the horse can control it. Paralympics.
Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. One of the biggest warships in the world is the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. She weighs about 100,000 tonnes, is 333m in length and has 4439 staff on board. With nuclear-powered 280,000 horsepower reactors, she has a top speed of 30 knots (55 KPH). But even though this ship is of immense proportions, she is guided by one man at the helm controlling a rudder 1/1000th the size of the ship.
Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. I’m told the tongue is 0.4% of a person’s total body weight – but it has a power out of all proportion to its size.
Little but Lethal vs 5-8. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire and is itself set on fire in hell. I’m sure you can all recall the recent spread of wildfires here in Paphos or watched the spread of fires in Athens. We heard many news reports comment on how all it takes is a small spark to ignite widespread devastation. Some suggest these were started simply by someone throwing down a cigarette when they’d finished smoking without ensuring the ‘fag end’ was out! The ‘fake news’ newspaper headlines were the spark that started the Boxer Rebellion.
The tongue, says James, is a world of evil, which sets the whole course of our lives on fire. Do you remember the children’s rhyme? Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me. We all know it’s completely untrue. With our tongues we can put nations at war, we can ruin reputations, we can end careers, and we can even destroy lives.
Delicate but Deadly vs 7-8. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. Human beings can do amazing things with animals, yet they can’t control their own tongues. A sharp word, a blasphemy, a criticism, a piece of slander. We just cannot tame that tiny piece of flesh inside our mouths. James pulls no punches when he says it’s a restless evil full of deadly poison.
3. The Heart Of The Matter vs 9-12
Vs9-10: With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Now it’s worth recognising here that there is a good use of the tongue, and that is to praise our Lord and Father. In fact, that is what our tongues were designed to do. It was designed to give glory to the God who made it.
In one breath we give glory to God, in the next we dishonour him in the way we speak to, or about, others. We want to go God’s way and praise him and yet we cannot help but use our tongues for evil as well. Peter found this to be painfully true in Mark 8. One minute he was being praised for recognising Jesus as the Messiah and the next he is being called Satan because he gets something seriously wrong. I feel in good company!
American writer Warren Wiersbe speaks of twelve words that can change your life:
Please and Thank you. When you use these three words, you are treating others like people and not things.
I’m sorry. These two words have a way of breaking down walls and building bridges.
I love you. “I love you” is a statement that can carry tremendous power.
I’m praying for you. And be sure that you are.
To make his point further, James gives us another illustration, vs 11-12: Can both fresh water and saltwater flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grape vine bear figs. Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. And if you try and mix fresh water with salty water, what do you get? Salt water. The two don’t mix. If you want grapes, you go to the vine. If you want figs, you go to the fig tree. Olives, oranges, lemons etc.
So, what’s James really saying in this passage? Well, he’s saying the heart of the problem is actually the problem of the heart. We slander others because we have a slanderous heart. We lie because we have lying hearts. We cut people down because we’re jealous or hateful. But James is only echoing what Jesus said in Matthew 15:18-20: But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean’.
Conclusion
This recognition that the heart is the source of the problem helps us to see the way forward. However, the problem with the human heart is a problem we cannot deal with. We cannot give ourselves spiritual heart surgery. But God can, and that is exactly what he does for those who put their trust in Jesus. Our only hope for any sort of change in ourselves is the God who made us. We need to go back to the creator. Because the word of the gospel which saves us is the same word which transforms us. Only by a humble acceptance and daily and submission to that word can we have any hope of change. And our task as Christians is to humbly allow God to do his work in us and through us. It is not an easy thing to take up our cross and follow Jesus.
A Prayer
Lord, I am in constant danger.
I am tempted to say things that I shouldn’t,
words that will hurt others, words that would not honour you.
Set a guard over my mouth.
Thank you for your Holy Spirit, the fire you have given me, stronger than my tongue.
Thank you for the gift of self-control.
Lord, put your Word, your promises, and your praise on my lips.
Help me build up others with my words.
Guard me from sinning against you and others.
Please fill me with your Spirit to enable me to live to your praise and glory.
Amen.
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author, Revd Paul A. Carr. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name.
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