Beware of the Tongue

by Ted Burleson

James warns against rash and angry words by tying speech and hearing to anger. Anger is not sinful in itself; however, violence is not the thing that God approves. Instead of anger, the Christian may feel when viewing the wickedness of the world and within the church family, the Christian must wait patiently for the Lord to execute justice. Christians are to rid themselves of evil by being washed in baptism. Believers must govern their lives by the word “planted” in them (Jas. 1:19–21).

If Christians have an authentic walk with God, they must be slow to speak (control the tongue). Otherwise, one’s religion is useless. This idea is counter-cultural in that the wisdom of the world may lead someone to make claims that are not backed up by actions. James encourages Christians to walk the walk and talk the talk.

The lesson is clear for Christians today. The moral standards and the estimate of grace guided by a worldly mind are no match for the standards of the wisdom that comes from God. We may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are religious, but if we do not control our speech, we are following the ways of the world.

James warned against becoming teachers (3:1–12) because of the influence of the position and the difficulty of controlling one’s speech. A teacher will have to be more cautious about his or her speech. Knowledge of God’s commands is required, because we expect Bible teachers to speak God’s Word.

A teacher does not have to be perfect, of course, but a teacher must demonstrate actions and speech that are befitting to Christians. James illustrates these ideas with the metaphor of bits in a horse’s mouth, a rudder on a ship, and a spark that starts a massive forest fire. If worldly wisdom leads the tongue, then it is set on fire by hell. These illustrations are reminders that as a small member, the tongue (speech personified), is powerful (Jas. 3:1–12).

James continues illustrating the power and danger of the tongue by reminding his readers of all types of tamed creatures, but the tongue cannot be tamed. The tongue is like a deadly snake. Just as springs do not produce spring water and saltwater, the tongue cannot deliver words of heavenly wisdom and words of earthly wisdom.

The tongue controls the whole person. Nature is consistent, but the tongue is very inconsistent. It cannot be tamed. God alone can tame the tongue of the humble Christian who lives in submission to His will. Our culture is full of self-help books on improving our speech and vocabulary, but this is not the language of God. In our speech, God’s speech means that we are allowing God to strengthen our character, and the people who hear us know that our words are righteous.

James considers another abuse of speech to be slander and warns against such actions (Jas. 4:11–12). Those who are pure in heart will allow God to teach their mouths not to speak evil against others. To speak evil against a brother or to judge a brother is a violation of the royal law of loving our neighbor as ourselves (Jas. 2:8; cf. Lev. 19:18). If Christians do not want to be condemned by God, they should refrain from condemning one another.

James’ message is truly counter-cultural when applied to our present society, where faultfinding has become an accepted custom. James challenges his original readers and those who would read his writings today to stand against the culture by refusing to speak evil of others. This advice is especially true in the church. Simply because such evil speaking is behind closed doors or in private does not mean that it is less harmful. Evil speaking is sinful and forbidden by God.