In my last few posts I’ve shared some practical insights from the book of James. We talked about how to handle problems, how to face temptation, and how to move from hearing to doing. In this post I want to tackle another hot topic from James’ letter: Words. The words we speak have the power to shape not only our lives but the lives of others too. Whether it’s fellow employees, our family, or our friends, words often set the temperature of our interactions.

The New Testament letter of James provides some important insight on the tongue and the power of our words. In James’ day, Jewish leaders often referred to the tongue as an arrow because it could kill or do great harm from a distance. James begins his discourse on the tongue with a warning:

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. (James 3:1)

Why would James start his discourse on the tongue with a warning to teachers? Perhaps it’s because teachers talk…alot. Saying something wrong with one or two friends is bad enough. But saying something wrong when you’re teaching an entire group of people is even worse. The larger your platform of influence, the greater potential good (or harm) you can do with your words. And when teachers misuse that platform, James says we “will be judged more strictly.” He wasn’t discouraging people from teaching, but rather putting the responsibility of teaching in context. James continues:

We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. (James 3:2)

All of us know that none of us is perfect. So when James says, “If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man…” he doesn’t mean that he’s a sinless person. The word “perfect” actually means “complete” or “mature”. The idea is that when a person is able to control his speech, he demonstrates maturity of heart. Jesus reinforced this same concept:

“How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words.” (Matthew 12:34, The Message)

From here, James offers a number of thoughts about the tongue by making four comparisons:

1.  The Tongue is Like a Bit and a Rudder

James begins his comparison with these words:

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. (James 3:3-5)

In the same way that a bit controls the direction of a horse and a rudder controls the direction of a ship, the tongue controls the direction of our lives. And while that sounds easy, we know it’s very difficult. Why? Because your mouth gives voice to your nature. We all have a sin nature that wants to do its own thing, and our mouth fights continuously to verbalize whatever our sin nature wants to do. The tongue directs our lives.

2.  The Tongue is Like a Fire

Not only is the tongue like a bit and a rudder, it’s also resembles a fire. James 3:5b-6 says:

Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

James begins with the word “Consider” which implies paying close attention to what he’s about to say. He wants us to consider the fact that the tongue is like a spark that gives birth to a huge fire. Fire can be extremely destructive. Consider the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

On the evening of October 8th, a fire started in Patrick and Catherine O’Leary’s barn. A news reporter embellished the story, saying that the fire started when O’Leary’s cow kicked over a lantern. While the cause of the fire is in question, the results are not. By the time the fire was contained on the morning of October 10th, it had destroyed 73 miles of roads, 2,000 lamp posts, 17,500 buildings, and $222 million of property. Approximately 300 people died and of the 300,000 inhabitants in Chicago, 100,000 were left homeless. What started as a small fire in a barn ultimately wiped out 3.3 square miles.

How could a fire burn for so long? Because fire has the ability to reproduce itself as long as there’s something to burn. James made a similar observation about the tongue:

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. (James 3:6)

How does that happen? Think about it! If a fire started in the kitchen of your home, and it was left to burn for a few minutes, it would destroy the entire kitchen before the fire department could arrive. But the damage would extend far beyond the kitchen. How? Because the smoke from the fire would permeate the walls of every other room in the house.

The tongue is the same way. As long as there’s something to talk about, something to gossip about, someone to slander, or someone to verbally assault, the tongue will continually reproduce destruction. The tongue is a fire but the smoke of the tongue’s destruction will permeate every other part of your life. That’s why James said, “…It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire…”

Here’s the point: Your ability, or lack of ability, to control the words that come out of your mouth not only impacts the condition of your life but also impacts the environment you create for those who you influence.

Tom Rath and Donald Clifton captured this truth powerfully in their book, How Full is Your Bucket where they explain the theory of the dipper and the bucket. According to Rath and Clifton, each of us has an invisible bucket that is emptied and filled by the words and actions of others, ultimately increasing or decreasing positive emotions. They also suggest that we each have an invisible dipper. With the dipper we can fill others’ buckets (with positive words and actions) or dip from others’ buckets (with negative words and actions). Interestingly, when we use the dipper to fill others with words of life, we actually fill our own buckets too. The point is clear: Your words, and the words of others, direct the relationships, productivity, and health of our lives.

Psalm 141:3 says, “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.” The tongue may be difficult to control, but when the tongue comes under Christ’s control, we have, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the ability to speak words of life. It’s better to fight a fire with words of life than go around setting new fires.

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