James 5: Speaking and Boasting

James: Faith and Works

Week 5 – Speaking and Boasting

Father’s Day

Good morning and welcome to worship on this great day for dads! I hope you dads enjoy your gift from the church. James’ ultimate goal is to guide the people of God back to where wee need to be, walking in the steps of Jesus, and I hope that this little gift will do the same for you, that it will be a reminder of 2 things:

1) That God is your guide

2) That as God guides you, others are following you.

That was James’ message in a nutshell.

But, we aren’t into nutshells around here! So turn with me to James 3. We are actually going to cover more ground in this message than in any of the others. In the next 20 minutes or so, we are going to look at chapters 3 and 4 of this great book as we consider our tongue!

As you turn to James 3 in your Bibles, let me remind you where we have been:

First, we looked at the fact that we will be tested, that we will face trials and temptations, that we will face hard times – maybe not like James and the others faced in the 1st Century, but in our own way, our faith will be tested, and through Christ we persevere and are strengthened.

Then, we looked at the importance of listening and doing – that God’s Word is to guide our steps, to change our life… God’s word should make a difference in our lives.

Then, there was preference and prejudice, that we have preferences, and we may prejudge others based on what we know about someone ‘like them’, but God calls us to love our neighbors, all of them. Finally, last week we looked at the fact that our faith should lead to action, if it doesn’t then questioning our faithfulness is valid. We’ve covered a lot of ground so far, but there is more to go.

Let’s start with a prayer, then get into the next part of this letter from James.

Prayer

So, let’s read the first few verses of James 3

James 3:1-5

Well, that’s a troubling passage for some of us. We teachers are going to be judged more harshly than others…

In the early church the teacher was a place of honor, it was an important role that was played, and like I said a couple of weeks ago, it wasn’t uncommon for a teacher of the church to be a servant or slave the rest of the week. This could be the only place they received the kind of honor and respect they craved, and because of that there were many who wanted to be teachers, maybe like it is today I guess, and James is reminding them that the things they say and do have a huge impact on the new believers they teach.

Then he gets into illustrations about how easy it is to sway us from where we are to where we need to go.

A small bit in the mouth of a horse will cause it to go to the right or the left.

A ship being pushed along by the wind is guided by a small rudder. I never really understood how that worked until I tried sailing, or watched Evan sail. Depending on the point of sail and the strength of the wind, you pull your sail closer or let it out farther, but all that does is push you forward, the entire ship is guided by a small piece of wood hanging off the back of the boat. You push the tiller and rudder one way and the boat turns, push it the other way and it turns the opposite direction. Here’s the thing. If you steer the sailboat the wrong way, then you will end up “in the irons” or dead into the wind and you won’t be able to go anywhere. The rudder can guide the ship the correct way, or it can send the ship in the wrong direction.

So it is with the tongue.

James 3:6

Plutarch was a great Greek Philosopher of the 1st Century, possibly around the time James was writing, and he talked about the dangers of undisciplined speech and how the tongue can be a runaway ship or a fire that sets the world ablaze. Which came first, Plutarch or James’s writings we may never know, but what we know is 2 of the greatest minds of the time were in agreement. The tongue can be a great resource of good or harm. Simply put, words are powerful!

American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne once said, “Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent and evil they become in the hands of someone who knows how to combine them.”

But, James sees our words, or the tongue, causing more harm than good.

James writes:

James 3:7-10

Have you ever thought of that? I know we have all said horrible things about people at different points in our lives. We have all caused harm with the words we say… and yet we want our words to heal, to help… we want to say loving things, and yet we don’t always, do we? Peace should be our goal. Let’s follow James along a little more.

James 3:14-18

James is telling us that there are 2 kinds of wisdom – the wisdom that leads to death and destruction – or as it is translated in the NRSV, “disorder and wickedness.”

Then there is another kind of wisdom that is from above, a wisdom that leads to a “harvest of righteousness sown in peace for those who make peace.”

That is our goal, to give and receive peace, shalom, the “harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility” that can only come from God.

And yet there is so much that interferes with our peace. James moves in that direction in chapter 4.

James 4:1-10

Wow… James, come on man, chill! Right. I told you he was a bit sassy at times.

What James is telling us is the answer to what we are looking for, the way we find peace isn’t conflicts between us as followers of Christ. It isn’t living in the ‘world’ and the ways of pleasure. It isn’t clawing and fighting our way to the top… gaining the honors for ourselves… climbing the corporate or social ladder.

The answer to the life we seek is to live a life of humility. James is reminding us that when we humble ourselves before God, it is God who exalts us, who lifts us up, who elevates us, not in the ways of the world as we know it, but in the way it is to be when we are living on earth as in heaven.

James goes on…

James 4:11-12

God is the only true judge of the thoughts, motives, and intentions of others. When we speak evil of, revile, or slander another person we aren’t speaking kingdom life into them. To the very opposite, we are speaking the language of the devil himself when we do such things. His native language is death, condemnation, shame, slander, and destruction. And none of us want to be part of that…

Weigh your words carefully church, for with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.

James wraps up this chapter reminding us that we don’t need to boast about tomorrow, or boast about our life, or be arrogant about who or what we are or do. He reminds us that we are here for a little while, then we vanish, so what control do we have over anything, even in what we say!

This passage is so important for us! We need to understand that our words have power. With our words we can build others up or we can tear them down. With our words we can spread life, or we can spread death and destruction.

I have read story after story of bullying has leading to suicide and death. There was a recent case of an female texting and calling her ex-boyfriend for over 2 years, taunting him, telling him he didn’t deserve to live, calling him all kinds of names until he actually took his own life. She is now a guest of the state with a wardrobe of an orange jumpsuit for the rest of her life.

Our words are powerful and we need to take care how we use them! God’s word has a lot to say about our words and how we use them. Take these nuggets of wisdom from proverbs:

Proverbs 18:2

Proverbs 18:4

Proverbs 18:6

Proverbs 18:7

Proverbs 18:20

Proverbs 18:21

Death and life are truly in the power of the tongue. With our mouths we praise God the Father in one setting and curse our neighbor in another. If James were here with us today he’d say, “Church, we can do better.”

Here in the 21st Century, we have a ton of opportunities to practice being humble and kind. Places like Facebook and Instagram. Email, Text, and review sites like Yelp or others.

These are all spaces where we as believers can enter in and shine the light of Christ. These are spaces where we can be quick to listen and slow to get angry. Places where the words of life are so abundantly necessary.

I told Shaefer and Kathy earlier this week, over the past 3 years I have deleted a lot of messages. The backspace button on my computer is a little worn from typing a reply, then backspacing to type a more Godly reply. Has anyone else ever done that?

In Ephesians 4:29, Paul reminds us to “let no harmful words come out of our mouth, but only words meant to build others up”… the word he used there is the same word we use for edify, to teach. That brings this passage full circle doesn’t it. Our words are to teach the love of Christ to others, not harm them!

I want to challenge you this coming week to be even more intentional with your words. Let them be life giving and uplifting to others. Let them be encouraging and filled with humility.

American poet Emily Dickinson said, “A word is dead when it is said some say. I say it just begins to live that day”

Let your words come to life this week, and set them free to give life to others.

Let’s pray together.