How to Speak Properly

I think most of us usually think that we are pretty good at hiding our emotions. Certainly we do become adept at putting on a good front. When you casually interact with people, unless you’re the type of person that picks up on body language quickly, then usually that front will be enough to hide what is going on emotionally inside you.

But, open your mouth beyond the most basic small talk and you don’t have to have a psychology degree to get a bit of an idea of what is going on.

The tongue

You see, if there is an organ in the body that has a habit of betraying us, it is the tongue. Sure, we can speak a lot of fluff - you know, those words that are really quite empty. But the reality is that it usually doesn’t take too long for little things to slip out.

The longer you speak to someone, the more true this is.

The longer you speak to someone, the more true this is.c mounting an argument that I think is clearly true. The tongue is a destructive force, but it is actually a symptom of what is in the heart.

This morning I am going to explore the arguments that James raises. As I do, it might initially seem evident that the application is that we should be more careful with what we say.

While that might be good advice, as we explore James’ argument, we’re going to see that if that is our strategy, we’re going to fail.

Swearing

It’s a little bit like swearing.

Now, as many of you are aware, the youth group we run is almost entirely made up of non-churched youth. As a result it probably wouldn’t entirely surprise you that when it comes to swear words, you hear the odd one or two… or a hundred.

Well, when the swearing gets a bit excessive, we try to crack down a bit harder on it. And you know what - to an extent it will work. There is an extent to which people can control the language that comes from their mouth.

But what is evident is that, particularly as they relax, those swear words will reappear. Now, with some exceptions, that’s not because they are trying to be rude. The reality is, those swear words come out because it is part of their way of thinking. For many, they don’t even realise what they’ve said might be rude unless it is pointed out to them.

You see, when a habit is ingrained into us, while to an extent you can curtail it by just telling yourself to stop, unless there is a deep seated change, the issue will remain.

And so, while this morning while I’m going to be focusing on the tongue, this is actually the outlet of our problem, not the problem itself.

Leaky hot water system

During the week I had a problem that was a good example of this.

You see, inside our house we have a hot water system, and unfortunately we discovered that the area around the system was getting wet.

Eventually we found the problem. You see a hot water system has some sort of release valve for when the pressure gets too high, which would allow water to be discharged into an overflow pipe. Unfortunately, the valve proved to be leaky. As it wasn’t leaking much, we decided just to monitor it and if it got worse, then we would have the option to replace it.

But later a discovery was made that changed the assessment. The discovery was that the overflow pipe was blocked. Had that discovery not been made, we could have replaced the leaky valve many times over but the problem would have remained.

In the same way, you can try to curtail your tongue, but if you’re not looking at the root problem, nothing will change.

Context

But before I try to get to this root problem, let’s explore what James has to say. Although, before we do that, as I always like to do, let’s make sure we know how today’s passage fits in with the whole letter.

Well, as we’ve discovered while doing this series, the letter James wrote is a very practical letter. He is deeply concerned with the practical outworkings of our faith.

It is almost as if James is saying - right, you know the basic truths that underpin our faith, but this cannot just remain theory.

When Jesus died for our sins, being the climax of God’s plan to redeem humanity, it was not just a spiritual exercise completely divorced from day to day living.

Rather, there are rock solid links between our faith and how we live.

The passage just before the one we are looking at now made this very explicit.

As we then move into chapter 3, while in one regard he is introducing a new topic, it’s actually just another angle on which we should explore this link.

Interestingly, if you were paying careful attention in the earlier chapters, you might have noticed that James gave us a hint that this topic was going to come up.

Perhaps most explicitly this was done in which says

James 1:26 NIV (Anglicised, 2011)

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.

James’ argument

Interestingly, as James raises the topic in chapter 3, he actually does so in the context of warning people against becoming teachers.

Now I’m not sure if James here is identifying a particular problem during the time of the early church. I should add that as far as we know this letter was a very generally letter, not specifically addressing particular people, but it is possible that James was making a general observation that many Christians were desiring to become teachers.

The statement, as it’s given in the first verse, makes the point that the reason you should avoid becoming a teacher, is that you will be judged more strictly.

For the sake of clarity, I should point out the when James is talking about teacher here, he is not talking in the sense of a school teacher but of course of someone who teaches other about the Christian faith.

And while I’m clarifying things, I should also add that this is not a warning that we shouldn’t try to explain things to others when the opportunity arises. Certainly, times will arise when each of us should give the reasons for the hope in which we have.

Rat

Rather, James warning should instead put into focus any desire we might have to set ourselves up in a position of authority over others, particularly when we are giving instruction.

Specifically why this is such an issue is because the sins of those who teach are amplified is our message. A teacher has significant influence and has the ability to lead many astray.

Now this of course does not mean that to be a teacher you need to be perfect. Certainly I would not be standing here now if that were the case. Or more to the point, no body would be qualified, which even James acknowledges when he states in verse 2: “we all stumble in many ways”.

Of course, the only exception is Jesus. And while in one regard you could say that Jesus is our only real teacher, this is not what James is trying to get at. Jesus is our teacher, but he also raises others up to carry this task as part of the process.

Now we could ask - why has James raised this point just before a discussion on the problem of our tongue?

Well, because the problems that we’re about to look at with the tongue are significantly amplified for anyone who has placed themselves as a teacher.

The problem still occurs for those who don’t find themselves in a teaching capacity, but the affects are not as wide spread.

The small controlling the big

Well, as James explores the effect of the tongue, he gives us a number of analogies.

The first two essentially make the same (or at least similar) point.

Bit in a horse

The first analogy is of a bit in the mouth of a horse.

The bit is a relatively small device. It sits near the mouth, and (forgive me if I get my horse terms incorrect), it’s connected to the reins, such that a little movement in one direction will make the entire horse change direction.

Rudder of a ship

The second analogy is of a rudder on a ship.

Now, regardless of the size of the ship, the rudder is small in relative terms. But the relatively small device has the ability to turn the biggest of ships.

Good or bad

Imagine one of those large cruise liners that are fairly common today. Relative to the size of the ship, their rudder is small

Now in both of these analogies the control can be either for good or ill. You see, the rider of the horse, or the captain of the ship can decide where the horse or ship goes. If they know what they are doing, they can keep away from danger. If they are either reckless, or don’t know what they are doing, their direction can lead to trouble.

You might recall the Costa Concordia from 2012 where the captain did try something foolish and the large ship overturned near the shore line of Tuscany killing 32.

But by and large, the horse riders and ship captains do use the bits and rudders for good.

The power of the tongue

In the same way, the tongue is relatively small, but yet it can make a huge difference.

In fact, the tongue can do a lot of good. The tongue can encourage and motivate others. It can be used for teaching and rebuking.

But perhaps even more significant, the tongue allows us to put our thoughts into words. In this way, abstract ideas, when said out loud, can start to have meaning.

We saw this in creation. God spoke, and the world came into existence.

We see it in Jesus. He was described as the Word. And the Word was made flesh.

The point I believe James is getting at here is that the tongue has great power, and we should not for a minute underestimate this.

Great harm

Now while that power can be used for good, as James drops another analogy for us, he highlights the great danger that it can pose as well.

Fire

The analogy he gives us is one that unfortunately, we are all too familiar with, particularly at this time of year.

It is of small spark that can set a great forest on fire.

The conditions surrounding us make this particularly relevant. The land is dry. The temperature is heating up. Add some winds and we have all the conditions. Just add a tiny spark, like what happened in northern NSW only a few weeks back, and not only are dozens of houses lost, tragically also loss of life.

I don’t think it is too hard to see how this works as an analogy for the tongue.

By our tongue, the spark can be as simple as a harsh word. A discouragement. A bit of gossip. A simple white lie.

Just as in a bush fire, if the conditions are right, it won’t take long for that spark to become a flame.

Rumours start. Your seemingly trivial tongue, gets other tongues moving.

Fire in the body

In verse 6, James adjusts his analogy, and considers different aspects of the destruction that the tongue causes.

Just look at the description he gives in verse 6: “a world of evil among the parts of the body”.

You see, the tongue gives form to the destructive thoughts and ideas, it’s the fire that then takes hold of not just the tongue, but your entire body.

But James doesn’t stop there. Once the body becomes corrupt, it then set’s course for your entire life.

It is so sad that when destructive words are said, often those words stay with us. It can sometimes be just carelessness, but once a word is said, you can’t un-say it.

The destruction is real and the effects are long lasting.

As James finishes his sentence in verse 6, it doesn’t become any less scary, in fact he puts this in the setting it belongs. The sad but very real reality is that this destruction leads to a place e don’t like to talk about - that is, the fires of hell.

It’s not nice to think about. But that careless word spoken, can start a fire that ultimately has the potential to lead not just to a some pain now, but eternal damnation. But it is much like the careless person who throws the cigarette butt out the window on a hot dry day, not realising the potential damage it can cause.

Unchanging

Well, James has been quite graphic about the damage it can cause, but the next analogy brings me back to the point I made earlier.

Attempts to tame

You see, he draws our attention to the very animals that can be tamed. We’ve managed to tame all sorts of animals. Just think about the variety of pets we have today. We’ve also tamed birds and reptiles, and as James also points out, even sea creatures!

But for everything we can tame, the thing that has caused so much difficulty in taming is the tongue.

As I mentioned before, sure we can argue that to an extent people can be taught to speak politely - but James gets to the heart of the problem at the end of verse 8. It is a restless evil, and this is because (in James’ words) it is full of deadly poison.

That deadly poison is nothing other than sin itself.

This essentially is the root of the problem and the reason we can’t just change.

When sin entered the world, it has affected every person. It is a destructive force and it is present in us today.

We can try to pretend that it’s not really there. We can even make great declarations of praise to God, but we can’t be rid of it.

James recognises in verse 10: “out of the same mouth come praise and cursing”.

Though we show how well we can use words, the sin still remains.

Fruit consistent with its kind

James finishes with two more analogies that make similar points.

The first of which reminds us that when you find a spring, you won’t get some salt water and some fresh. Either the water will be salty or it will be fresh.

Similarly when you find a fig-tree, you’re not going to find olives on it, nor would you find figs on a grapevine.

The point James is trying to make is clear. The fruit is always consistent with it’s kind. The fruit of sin is destruction. From the sin in our lives we will see destruction words.

Tongue as barometer

For this reason, I’m going to suggest that if you want to get a quick gauge of the sin in your life, stop and think back at the words you have spoken.

Now discount those words you’ve said when you’ve come here this morning and put on your polite front, rather think back through the week.

If you had been recorded, would you be happy for others to listen?

Unfortunately, I know that there were times in this last week that I wouldn’t be happy for you all to hear what I spoke.

What we should do...

The reality is, we are going to remain sinful people, and this is going to come out in what we say - but if this is inevitable, what hope do we have?

Well, thankfully, while this side of Christs return we won’t entirely eradicate sin, Christ has made it possible to change.

A salt spring might not be able to change to a fresh water spring by any natural means, but God doesn’t just deal with the natural. God deals in the supernatural.

The change we need is regeneration.

Thankfully, we have a God that specialises in regeneration. When Christ came to earth and died on that cross, it was not just a theoretical change he made, but rather by breaking the bonds of sin, he enabled those who accept it to be changed on the inside.

And this has very real implication for what we are talking about this morning.

James made this clear when he spoke about the relationship between faith and deeds in the previous chapter.

When you allow Christ to dwell in you there is a change.

Now, as I alluded to before, you won’t become perfect as a result. Christ is waiting for the right time before he makes his victory final, but we still undergo a process of change.

We can see positive improvements in our lives. But this will only come as we allow the Spirit to transform us.

The improvements should be evidenced by positive words in our life. Instead of discouragement, there should be encouragement. Words should be spoken in love. Words that build others up rather than tear them down.

In this way, the destructive force that happens with our words when sin is stored up, change to a constructive force where God’s kingdom can flourish.

Conclusion

James demonstrates for us the power of words.

But the important thing that I want you to take from this message is that these words are not just something you can change by focussing on the words themselves.

Rather, because the words result from our nature, we instead need to focus on the one who can actually change us, and that is Christ.

May Christ dwell in each of us richly so that we can be transformed into his likeness resulting in us speaking words of life.