Wisdom and Our Words

Faith in Jesus transforms our words.

Justine Sacco had done well for herself. The Tulane grad has found success in public relations, working her way up in the communications shops of several successful enterprises. Eventually landing as the executive managing corporate communications for the media conglomerate IAC in NYC.

But on a fateful December day in 2013, as she prepared to board a plane to see her father in South Africa, the country of her birth, she tweeted what she thought was a mocking take on Western privilege. “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!”

In the age before in-flight WiFi, while she was offline and asleep on the 11-hour flight, the tweet went viral, sparking global outrage and intense media scrutiny. #HasJustineLandedYet

Her tweet was seen, rightly, as racist and profoundly insensitive.

By the time her plane landed in Cape Town, she was an infamous worldwide trending topic and had lost her job.

Sacco deleted her account and issued an unsparing apology. “I am very sorry for the pain I caused.” However heartfelt, the damage was done, setting on fire the course of her life.

The company that fired her, in its statement, declared: "No excuse for the hateful statements that have been made." But the company added that it hoped "time and action, and the forgiving human spirit, will not result in the wholesale condemnation of an individual who we have otherwise known to be a decent person at core."

‘Everyone else should forgive her, but we won’t.’

Words matter. They are powerful with such potential. We don’t need a lot of evidence to prove the point; we all know it firsthand: We’ve been hurt by words and have hurt with our words. We know the lasting impact of words spoken over us, internalized.

Is there any hope for us? And can our words do good?

We are entering the second unit of our wisdom series, looking at the Terrain of Wisdom: how biblical wisdom applies to a specific domain of life. We want to evaluate what the world’s wisdom says about it, see what Scripture says, and understand what it looks like to receive Christ’s wisdom in that area specifically.

The first domain, which should color everything that I say in the rest of the series, is our words.

Faith in Jesus transforms our words.

James helps us diagnose what needs to be transformed.

A wisdom book of the NT, it is as if James reviewed the church and prophetically called it out. “Don’t be hearers only, but doers of the word.” “Faith does something with results, works follow faith.”

And in chapter 3, he takes on hypocrisy.

For our purposes, we will traverse the terrain, examining 3 aspects of our words: power, potential, and impossibility.

Power of Our Words

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me!” The schoolyard mantra is the biggest lie!

Broken bones heal, and bruises go away. Words stick.

The world wants you to say any and everything that comes to mind. Say what you please. Light fires without regard to how the “snowflake” you are talking about feels or responds to it.

Few things reveal the heart more reliably than speech.

Proverbs returns to the tongue dozens of times; it wounds, heals, destroys, builds, and exposes who we actually are.

James connects the tongue directly to the heart’s formation. The wise person is not someone who has learned communication skills; they are someone whose inner life has been so formed by Christ that what flows out is different.

He begins this section of his letter with a warning and tremendous grace.

James 3:1–2 “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. [2] For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.” (ESV)

Directed at those wanting to be teachers, saying essentially, “Careful what you say because you will be judged more strictly.” There is a gravity to the task. The Spirit gives the church teachers, but it is a weighty thing.

Then he expands the category in question to the whole church. “For we all stumble in many ways.”

This is a grace to us.

This week, at least mentally, has been a rehashing of misplaced, misspoken, reckless words I have spoken. Stirring hunger for change.

This text is meant to be a diagnosis; James is showing us indicators of neglect that are dangerous in relation to our words.

Recognition first of our words’ power.

Control your words, tongue, and you steer a whole life.

He gives the illustrations of small instruments controlling massive bodies in comparison.

A bit in the mouth of a horse brings obedience, allowing us to guide their whole body as well. Or a very small rudder will drive a large ship wherever the helm directs.

Think of modern images. A 400-ton Boeing 747 is steered by control surfaces you could barely notice from the ground. A massive cargo ship crossing the Pacific, or stuck in the Straight of Hormuz, is turned by a rudder that is just a tiny fraction of the ship’s mass.

Likewise, the tongue is a small part of our bodies, yet it boasts of great things.

The point isn’t just “small things matter”; it’s that whoever controls the small thing controls the direction of the whole vessel. That’s what the tongue does to a life, a marriage, a church— all of it.

Our words are powerful.

The book of Proverbs speaks variously of the power of our words/the tongue.

“With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor.” (11:9)

“The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood.” (12:6)

“The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.” (18:8)

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” (18:21)

“...a soft tongue will break a bone.” (25:15)

The power of our words! Lives have been both elevated and cast down by the tongue. Nations have risen, and nations have fallen to the tongue. Goodness has flowed like a sweet river from the tongue, but so has a cesspool. The tiny tongue is a mighty force in human life.

Neuropsychology bears it out. Little words of gossip (saying something about another in the presence of someone else), or agreement on something, give us a shot of dopamine (we feel seen), and our desire for more drives us to go on…

The warning to “watch your mouth!” is a good one because our words are powerful.

In this power there is potential.

Potential of Our Words

I would like to say the potential is mostly good, but the reality is that what James warns of is the potential for harm.

Our words are powerful enough to steer our lives (words are not meaningless); they also have the potential to spark devastation.

5b “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire.”

The world says words don’t matter, or it says go ahead and light some fires, burn the place down.

When I worked in Washington, I was advising an assistant secretary of the Department of Energy, known for saying a lot of words, and I told him, “Say whatever you want and I will clean it up later!” What arrogance and recklessness.

In our age in the political sphere, denial rules: “I never said that.” We hear and then they play the clip!

But the concern is for the soul, the inner world of the follower of Jesus.

James 3:6 “And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. (ESV)

So much in one verse. The rudder steers our lives through the highs and lows; there are lasting effects (staining). What comes out is a world of unrighteousness… all inspired by hell.

“We should probably understand the reference to “the world of unrighteousness” as James’s metaphorical assertion that all of the various dimensions of sinfulness we find in this rebellious world (all of which deserve the judgment of hell) find expression in the human tongue. Every sinful human tongue is a mini-drama that, if observed long enough, expresses the countless unrighteous stories lived out in this fallen world.” Robert L. Plummer

Elsewhere in the NT; “When Paul wants to exemplify the fact that the whole world, with no individual exception, is unrighteous, and without understanding or concern to do good, he crystallizes his general charges into this hard fact, that ‘their throat is an open grave, they use their tongues to deceive. The venon of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness’ (Rom. 3:13–14, quoting Pss. 5:9; 140:3 and 10:7).

This stains, leaves guilt and shame in the person who speaks wickedly.

“What James says in his way, the rest of the Bible says in its way, and there is hardly a sin more pervasively exposed and condemned than sins of speech.” J. A. Motyer

Our words have devastating potential to blow up your life. Even when we use them to save ourselves.

The 2003 Cedar Fire, Paradise Fire, and Otay Fire together devastated 13% of San Diego County, killing 17 people and destroying 3,200 buildings.

The Cedar Fire alone began as “a single spark, started as a Hail Mary by a lost hunter.” A hunter who became lost in the Cleveland National Forest lit a small signal fire to get help, and it spread out of control.

One small, seemingly reasonable act of self-preservation, and the whole county changed forever.

That is James’ image here.

The potential is so great and so dangerous because our words are more; it goes deeper.

“The tongue is so much more than what we actually say out loud. In fact actual speech is probably only a small percentage of the use of the tongue. We cannot think without formulating thoughts in words; we cannot plan without describing to ourselves step by step what we intend to do; we cannot imagine without painting a word-picture before our inward eyes; we cannot write a letter or a book without ‘talking it through’ our minds on to the paper; we cannot resent without fuelling the fires of resentment in words addressed to ourselves; we cannot feel sorry for ourselves without listening to the self-pitying voice which tells us how hard done by we are.” Motyer

Luke 6:43–45 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, [44] for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. [45] The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (ESV)

Leads to hypocrisy, the very thing James is exposing in the church. The tongue is a restless evil full of poison.

James 3:9–10 “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. [10] From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. (ESV)

These things ought not to be so. Just as you shouldn’t be a hearer of the word but not a doer of it; just as faith apart from works is dead.

A spring mixing salt and fresh water will only be salt.

We don’t worship Jesus and then go out to curse his image in others. Only the curse remains.

The same phone, same thumbs, same person who posts an encouraging Scripture verse and then fires off a cutting comment in a group text an hour later. It’s the same tainted spring.

This paints us into a corner. Convicting.

For the believer, we recognize the vast difference between condemnation and conviction. There is still hope.

Impossibility of Our Words

The destructive potential of our words should be tempered.

If our tongue were so well under control that it refused to formulate the words of self-pity, the images of lustfulness, the thoughts of anger and resentment, then these things would be cut down before they had a chance to live.

Some would take from the conviction of this passage an application that resolves as “try harder to tame your tongue.”

James actually tells us it is impossible on our own.

James 3:7–8 “For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, [8] but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” (ESV)

If the tongue controls the whole body, and no human can tame the tongue, then we are completely shipwrecked on our own.

So since no one can tame the tongue, the passage is less a call to willpower and more a diagnostic, exposing what’s really in the Spring of our hearts.

So we need a rescue for our words!

The only lasting fix for the fountain is a new heart. For which we have to go outside of ourselves.

Contrasting the wisdom of the world and that from above.

James 3:13–18 “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. [14] But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. [15] This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. [16] For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. [17] But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. [18] And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (ESV)

Wisdom from above that works in us transformation, purity, peace, gentleness, that pilots the rudder of our tongue.

That brings a harvest of righteousness.

Proverbs 10:11 “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,

but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. (ESV)

Proverbs 10:20–21 “The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;

the heart of the wicked is of little worth.

[21] The lips of the righteous feed many,

but fools die for lack of sense. (ESV)

Proverbs 12:25 “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down,

but a good word makes him glad. (ESV)

Ephesians 4:29 “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (ESV)

The grace we give is Jesus.

Jesus promised to be our living water.

The Samaritan woman at the well.

John 4:13–14 “Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, [14] but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (ESV)

Through him we are called to produce speech that refreshes, heals, and brings life.

Let Jesus transform your heart so that your words align with his love and truth.

Find cleansing in Jesus and speak life.

It’s possible that sinful patterns have become so ingrained that we no longer notice them. Maybe even calluses have developed on our hearts from letting corrupt speech take hold. We can ask for and receive this conviction for our sins of speech and invite others into our lives to hold us accountable.

The good news is that Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins of speech, for all our misspoken words. The Father welcomes even our tongues into eternity because of the sinless speech of his Son.

Following the flow of Jame, God chose to regenerate us (1:18) by implanting his saving Word inside us (1:21), and now he is calling us both to act and to speak as his holy people.

The prophet Isaiah has a vision of God’s throne room, hinting at the renewal we find in Christ. He realizes he can’t join in the holy song of the seraphim.

Isaiah 6:4–7 “And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. [5] And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

[6] Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. [7] And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” (ESV)

“We become emotionally and spiritually able to address the needs of others only after we come to recognize and confess our own great need and dependence upon God. Until that happens, we inevitably slip into mere self-help advice rather than the repentance unto life that the gospel invites us to. Isaiah confesses that he is a man of unclean lips, and the touch of the burning ember (from the altar of atonement) to his lips indicates that he has been made pure by a work beyond himself, so that now he can sing of, and give witness to, his God (vv. 6–7). We too have been touched by the “burning coal” of the altar where the sacrifices were made, having been purified by Christ’s atoning sacrifice that put an end to the need of the altar’s fire. Restored by his forgiveness and liberated from sin to be sent out, our lips may joyfully testify to the holiness and mercy of our God (v. 8).” GTB

Faith in Jesus transforms our words.

The way of Christianity is repentance and belief. We see where we missed the mark, we confess and believe in the forgiveness and grace of Christ for us, to keep us, sanctify us, and make us like him. In word and deed.

Surrender the places words have overpowered. Your own and others.

Seek, request transformation. Go on asking for wisdom to shape our words, the Spirit’s transforming work on ragged hearts.

Restore. Where can you seek healing and restoration with others where words have done harm or gotten in the way? Humbly ask for forgiveness.

Don’t use “if”

True perfection in speech awaits the renewal of all things in the new heaven and earth. For now, believers stumble, repent, trust in the righteousness of Christ, and see glimmers of the new age shining through their imperfect speech.

We are all on the way – we all stumble in many ways. The perfect man, though, calls you his own, and he has promised to make you like him, heart and soul, tongue and words.

May he produce this fruit in us, to give us wisdom to set the course of our lives for his glory and our good.