September 15, 2024
In seminary, students had the opportunity to preach to their peers in our daily chapel service. It was a great way to get your feet wet in preaching. But it also meant being vulnerable in showing a new endeavor, preaching/teaching the word of God. Some students signed up often to preach but remember seminary professors and the Seminary President would often preach so you were never simply compared to your peers. There was no pressure there. I must admit I never did it. I was too scared to be judged when I was first learning. Too scared I would make a mistake. Yet for those who did preach, the prayer used prior to reading scripture was often the conclusion of Psalm 19: Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. It is a humble reminder prayer asking God to direct their speech. James is also instructing us on the words that come out of our mouths. Specifically, he is cautioning teachers, himself included. Listen now for God’s word to you as it comes to us from James 3:1-12.
Bridles, rudders, streams are in this passage but what caught my attention is the declaration in God’s word that we all make mistakes. That is so refreshing. Scripture is often associated with the commandments, doing the right thing, following God’s teaching. I am encouraged to see it right there in vs 2 “For all of us make many mistakes.” Not just some mistakes, but many mistakes. Don’t you just want to give a sigh of relief? God knows the truth; we all make many mistakes. And that is OK. We are created in God’s image and live as best we can to reflect and honor that reality. It does not mean we take our mistakes lightly; it is just a reality of our lives. Now I know there are some perfectionists in the crowd. I have counted myself among you. But the longer I live, the more fully I embrace the idea that we all make mistakes, and I don’t always have to have the answer. Remember this passage is a caution for teachers. As a pastor I take it to heart. But you might say, I am not a teacher. Yet think of the lives that you influence. Your children, grandchildren, your friends and your family. You are influencing people all the time. And what you say matters. A couple weeks ago I mentioned Debbie Glaum Modena not swearing, but there is more to it than that. Our words show what is happening on the inside. How we think. What we believe. What we value.
The biggest event of the week was the Presidential Debate where 67 million people watched. It was a perfect time to see what each candidate thinks, believes, and values. Was the focus on the American people, on us, or was it about all the problems. Were the thoughts expressed clearly or were they jumbled or confused? Did the candidate stay on message, bridle the tongue, or was it more rambling? Roswell Dwight Hitchcock once said, “The secret of all success is to know how to deny yourself. Prove that you can control yourself and you are an educated man. Without this all other education is good for nothing” (Sermons.com, King Duncan). Our next president might be decided by how that debate was received, by who bridled the tongue. What we say matters.
In the first two chapters of James, character matters with impartiality and faithful action valued over favoritism and the mistreatment of vulnerable people. James explains the power of our words
with three examples: a large horse controlled by a small bit (verse 3), a large ship steered by a small rudder (verse 4), and a small blaze versus a large forest fire (verse 5). Each of these build on the next.
“The first metaphor, that of guiding a horse with a bridle, is the most straightforward. The rider directs the speed, and direction of a horse much larger than himself by means of a bit in the horse’s mouth — an implement which functions by pressing against the animal’s tongue. Quite literally, then, the one who can control the horse’s tongue with the bit in its mouth controls its whole body.
The metaphor of the ship’s rudder (adds another layer). This time, we also consider the influence of outside forces: wind and waves that would take the ship on a different course or destroy it altogether. The captain who can keep control of the rudder, like the person able to keep control of one’s tongue, can weather difficult circumstances and emerge intact and on course” (Working Preacher, Sandra Hack Polaski).
Do we have bits or rudders that help to guide us, direct our lives? The Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Or the commandments Jesus gave. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ‘Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22:37). Do these guide our actions and speech, giving us direction according to God’s will? Grace is another guiding principle. Living in grace means that when we fall short and make mistakes, we know that we are not mistakes. When you make a mistake, you trust and know that you are not a mistake. We rest in God’s love and try again, valuing ourselves as a child of God.
Finally, the tongue is likened to a small fire that ignites a forest. Once again, the tongue is the source of the problem, that can grow exponentially like an out-of-control blaze. We humans can tame every beast, bird, reptile and sea creature, but scripture tells us the tongue cannot be tamed (v. 8). Amazingly, our tongues offer praise to God and insults to others. We deny our God given identity when we belittle those made in the likeness of God. When we see ourselves as having greater value than others. It doesn’t matter what language their grandmother speaks, or which God they pray to or to no God at all. Using our tongue to encourage and uplift is so much better than judgmental quips and racist comments.
We all know that our tongue offers blessing as well as curse. We bless our God and our Lord Jesus Christ when we worship. When we join in communion and sing to God’s name. But with the same mouth we insult others and curse those different from us. James explains that is not how it should be. The purity of water, the fruit of a tree are examples of the way nature and our tongue should work. Our tongue should offer blessing just as a fig tree bears figs, and an olive tree produces olives. Offering blessing and curse is like fresh water and brackish water coming out of the same spring. For us it might be like attending church, and worshiping and praising God. To then leave here and do something hurtful, out of our Christian nature, cursing another person with our cruel words. Spring water and brackish water, coming from the same spring, the same mouth.
Perhaps you have heard about the father who introduced his children:
“This is Pete. He’s the clumsy one of the bunch.”
“That’s Kathy coming in with mud on her shoes. She’s the sloppy one.”
“As always, Mike’s last. He’ll be late for his own funeral, I promise you.”
That dad did a thorough job of labeling his children with their faults and mistakes. People do it to us and to those we love all the time. They remind us of our failures and mistakes, and they won’t let us live them down. But I say to you, you have a chance to begin again (Sermons.com, Brett Blair).
God sees you as more than your mistakes. God sees you as a child of God and will never introduce you by your mistakes. Let us seek to tame our tongue, let us accept that we will make mistakes, and let us live by the golden rule and God’s grace, trusting that we all make mistakes. Amen.
