Flaming Tongues or Tongues of Fire?

The New Revised Standard Version Taming the Tongue

Taming the Tongue

3 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. 4 Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8 but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Wow! There is an intensity to this passage. We know it, don’t we — the tongue can be a firebrand, setting ablaze our lives and causing great destruction. James’ spirited message hits very close to home for us today, doesn’t it? We see the damaging effects of untamed tongues so many places in our lives.

Consider the immense amounts of disinformation that circulate on the internet. Specifically, we are wrestling as a people with flaming tongues that have spread doubt and division regarding the medical necessity of vaccinations and caring for each other as we work to combat COVID-19. I’m discouraged to wonder at where we would be at in this crisis if we had not had so many people saying things that discredit scientists, people with decades of medical training and knowledge. There are tongues flaming in our world today and we can see the direct impact on people’s lives as hospitals continue to fill with unvaccinated people, social media continues to trumpet strange alternative treatments, and our neighbors or family members heed supposed wisdom from their buddy who read one article from a psuedo-medical journal.

I digress.

Let’s consider other examples of a flaming tongue and its destructive power. Yesterday marked the 20 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. In the aftermath of those attacks, we recall who flaming tongues stoked anti-Muslim rhetoric. Mosques were vandalized as the flaming tongues stoked fear of the other. Certainly, there were pieces of truth in the concern, as we know the terrorists who attacked on 9/11 had designs on hurting American citizens in the name of jihad, but flaming tongues blew that way out of proportion and led us down a road of deeper racism, islamophobia, and costly wars.

Consider as well, the flaming tongues that stir up doubt and conspiracy theories. Do you know there are folks out there who have cast doubt on whether or not the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings actually took place? Or the perhaps the view that the earth is flat or that the science behind climate change and global warming is a farce. I don’t mean to denigrate the folks who share these beliefs, but I use these conspiracy theories as examples of how easily a tongue, set aflame with incorrect information or downright malice can set communities ablaze. This is dangerous stuff!

A more innocuous example, but still harmful: I’m sure we all remember who rumors would spread around in middle school, where someone would tell a story about another student, true or not, and the rumor would spread like wildfire in a matter of hours. So and so likes so and so. So and so smells funny. Did you see what she had in her lunch today? Eww. These are petty things, we all know, but the rumors can spread and do harm to the fragile, growing souls of those young people.

Right around the time I was in middle school, a band of Christian musicians called Third Day, released their first album. The first track on the album, “Nothing At All” plays with this passage from James 3. “If you can’t say something good, don’t say nothing at all”, the chorus sings. “There are times in life when we just can’t keep it to our selves, but to want is not to make it right, we’ve got to tame our tongues.” This song SO resonated with me at that time in life because I saw the effects of untamed tongues at school, in me, in others. It was revelatory — I realized that my tongue could have very harmful effects.

So…what are we to do? Do we cut out our tongues, quieting our voices so we do no more harm. Jesus speaks of cutting out off a hand or gouging out an eye if they cause us to sin — so why not a tongue? Is there anything good that can come from these flaming beasts that live in our mouths?

Well, of course there is. But before I make the shift and move to the spirit-inspired power of the tongue, we HAVE to hear this wise caution: what we say matters! What information we share, what comments we make, who we reach out to on the phone or how we handle an interaction at the restaurant after church — it matters! Saying our prayers and singing hymns may make us feel like we’ve said out good words for the week, but EVERY thing we say matters. The apostle Paul talks of taking every thought captive — this is absolutely in line with what James is teaching about the tongue — the tongue must be taken captive, tamed, formed into a tool for spirit-inspired truth-speaking.

I love to think about our journey deeper into the way of Jesus through the lens of formation. We are formed by what we do, we become what we love. The work for us to is to tame and form our tongues. Out of the wells of deep compassion and love of God can come words that cut deeply into the truths we need to hear. The tongue, tamed, can become a font of wisdom and love.

Proverbs 10:31 says “The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.”

Do you feel the truth in this? Do you sense the opportunity.

Let’s shift now, to consider Tongues of Fire, as in the way the Spirit of God falls upon us and forms us to speak wisdom, truth, and lovingkindness.

There is a difference between having a spirit-inspired, faithful way of speaking in the world (teacher, as referred to in this passage) and having a tongue that is untamed and sets the world ablaze with malice.

In the opening of the book of Acts, we hear the story of the disciples receiving the presence of the Holy Spirit in the upper room. People who speak numerous different languages are, through the Holy Spirit’s presence, able to speak and understand each other. There is a coming together of the community of God and in this moment, they tell of tongues of fire descending upon them and lighting up above their heads. The Spirit of God empowers and forms their tongues to meet each other in unity. The Spirit of God gives tongues of fire to the people, tongues that are lit up by the animating, uniting light of God.

It is from this place that we can speak with wisdom and truth. From this place of receiving not our own wisdom or our own perspectives, but a wisdom and thinking that is formed by the Spirit, with us. We then cultivate this connection with God’s spirit and allow ourselves to be formed through prayer, study of Scripture, fellowship with others who are “in the Spirit”, cultivating and taming our tongues so that they may speak wisdom and truth.

Speaking truth and wisdom

So how do we know whether what is being said is an untamed, fiery tongue wagging or a wise, formed mouth that speaks by the Spirit? That’s a complex question. We may differ on our perspectives of what is truth, what is wise, what is informed, godly, loving speech. We may be sitting here thinking, “what is truth, anyway?” Can we say anything true, anything wise at all?

Here’s where I want to go back to the imagery that James employs around the forest fire. His metaphor of wildfire is helpful, as it is familiar to us even now, especially at the end of the summer as we continue to see fires blazing around our region and country.

We know that some forest fires can be incredibly destructive, spreading through the land and leaving no trace of life behind. And they can get out of control. They can burn through towns, destroying property and displacing people. This is what I would consider an untamed fire.

However, we also know that forest fires can be very healthy for the forest. It may be time for a section of land to burn so that new life can spring up in response. The fire can yield newness.

Thinking of fires is so helpful as we think of the tongue. And while there is no silver bullet answer that gets at what kind of speech is helpful and what is harmful, I want to lead us in this direction as we close — Does the tongue cause destruction or unity?

For me, this is a pretty simple way I can check the nature of my tongue — does what I say build up or does it destroy?

Words of wisdom, truth, lovingkindness — this draw us into greater unity. These are the tongues of fire, spirit-filled, that allow us to “speak each others’ language.” These are the words that seek the middle road, that rely on wisdom and expertise of others. These are not fluffy, frilly words, these are words with heart, passion, and care. A spirit-tamed tongue unites.

And a flaming tongue leads to division. Recount the conspiracy examples I shared earlier. Do these stories unite or divide? Do they build up, or do they ultimately destroy?

I feel the severity of this text today. I know that to preach, to speak to you all about these texts, is to play with fire. What someone like me says to a group of people has powerful implications. I can say things that destroy, that harm, that lead to disunity. And I must be very, very careful with what I say. But I know that I also can say words that bring life — I can build up, encourage, support, and love with my words. My words matter. And your words matter!

I pray that this text leads us to a healthy caution. A caution around how we are allowing our tongues to be formed. I hope it leads us to introspective, to turning our words around and considering their impact.

And I pray that our words would be used passionately, to build up, to speak for justice, to praise God, and to love our neighbors. In the presence of the Spirit, the tongue can do great things. We cultivate this, we tame our tongues, through drawing near to God, through prayer, through worship…so may we be a people who intentionally tame our tongues in this way.

And, as the song said, and as my mother often repeated to me throughout my childhood — If you can’t say something good, don’t say nothing at all.

It’s not always that simple, but does your tongue spread destructive wildfire, or does your tongue speak of the Spirit?

Oh God, tame our tongues and form us unto your way. Amen.