Your Words Matter
James 3:1-6
“The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.” vs. 6
Telephone
All of us have played the game telephone. It’s that game where you are in a line and someone starts by whispering a phrase in someone’s ear and they turn and whisper it to the next, and so on and so on until it gets to the end of the line. Usually the end result is no where near what was started with. So here is a cartoon from Leadership magazine that shows a line of pews and the same sentence being passed from person to person.
1st pew: My ear kind of hurts
2nd pew: The pastor has an earache
3rd pew: The pastor got a hearing aid
4th pew: The pastor is having trouble hearing
5th pew: The pastor got a double earring
6th pew: An old lady with a cane is walking out and says”: That does it, I’m outta here! The pastor’s got a double earring.
There is a general sense in our world today that words are just words. They don’t mean much in some instances; things like Twitter, Facebook, in emails and texts, and maybe to some extent even in our normal everyday regular conversations. But in other circumstances, we know they mean a great deal; i.e. bullying, on TV and movies, and most currently in the political realm. We are listening to our politicians words very closely right now in the campaigns for President that are happening. The Bible has a great deal to say about words. James talks about this in chapter 3 of his book. If you are able, would you stand as we read God’s Word from James 3:1-6.
Read Passage – James 3:1-12
Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. 3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 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. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
Christians Are Judged
Did you know that when we get to heaven we will be judged? Jesus talked often about the Day of Judgement. Read Matthew 10, 11, and 12, and you hear Jesus words that there is a day of judgement. That day is coming and many people better think again about their eternal destiny before that happens. In verse 1 of James 3 he says:
“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” vs. 1
Somehow many people have not realized that there is the Day of Judgement coming. But listen carefully now, judgment is different than condemnation. We’ll be judged at whether we did well with what God gave us or whether we did not do so well. So don’t think, I’ve accepted Jesus as my Savior, I don’t have to worry about standing before God on Judgement Day. No, you will. But there is good news. Jesus took our condemnation on the cross so we won’t be condemned…but we still are accountable for how we act. We will be held accountable for our actions. So we need to get this right. We need to see our words and our actions do have consequences. There is no condemnation which means we can’t lose our place in the kingdom but we also get a crown and that crown is full of jewels based on our works and actions. And it gets better, we get to throw that crown back to God at his feet because we recognize that all those good things we did, he accomplished it through us. We give him the glory.
Here’s the Good News
You might say that this doesn’t sound much like good news. Well, here’s the good news. Lets read verse 2a:
“We all stumble in many ways.” vs. 2a
Huh? You might be going, wait, that’s good news? Yes. Turn to the person next to you and say “I stumble.” See, we are all in the same boat. None of us are exempt. We all stumble. Not one of us is really better than the other, So don’t even worry about how bad you might think someone else is and better yet, don’[t worry how bad you are or even how good you might think you are, we all stumble.
This is true with our words too. Everyone has had that moment when they say,
“Oh, I didn’t mean to say that” or that moment when we’ve said “I wish I could take that back.” But it’s okay, we all stumble. So, let’s do something about it. Let’s learn what God show us about our words and how we can get better at living in a way that we don’t have to say those things or better yet, live in a way we look back with regret.
Lessons About the Importance of Words
James us a really practical book. In these 6 verses he give us some lessons on the importance of the words we use. I see three of them here.
- Learn to be Careful
First, when it comes to our words, we need to be careful what words we use. Again let’s look at verse 1:
“Not many of you should become teachers…” vs. 1a
James uses an illustration here that everyone can relate to. Anybody here ever had a teacher? Sure, we all have. Ever had a teacher tell you something wrong? Ok, don’t answer that. Some of us have had teachers that have given us the wrong information. What do we say and think? Yeah, they should have known better. We expect teachers to know what they are talking about. Even more when it comes to those who teach God’s ways. We have to be careful because our words can lead someone astray or down the wrong path. I sure don’t want that on my conscience.
But even more so, teachers need to be careful what they say which tells us to we need to be careful too. Some well-meaning people have said things to those who don’t know god and turned them away from him forever. See our words can drive people away from God or our words can help them see God as a loving Father who loves them and cares for them. But you know what, this applies to us too. Jesus said in Matt. 12:37:
“For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matt. 12:37
Our words can save us or condemn us. Paul said in Romans 10:9:
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
Ex. At a conference this week with 4000 others and we sang and declared Jesus is Lord. What a great sense of joy and encouragement.
- Be Willing To Be Led
Lesson 2, we have to be willing to be led when it comes to our words. You’ve probably heard “You can’t tell me what to say!” Well, maybe not, but that might be the sign of a person who is not willing to grow, to learn, and who is willing to be obedient to God. I know that is hard to hear but listen to the illustration James uses in verse 3:
“When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.” vs. 3
Bits are a tack that is put in a horse’s mouth and rests in an area of the mouth where there are no teeth. Now get this, they work on pressure, not pain. They are not meant to cause the horse pain, just enough pressure for the rider and horse to communicate effectively enough to work in line with each other.
So get the picture here, the bit is meant to be useful and helpful for the rider and horse to work together. Now I am not saying any of you look like a horse, but…well you fill in the blank. J We give our lives to God and the analogy is that he is the rider and we are horses. We try to control the ways we go, the things we do, the things we say. God is trying to guide and direct us, not with pain, but sometimes it takes a little pressure. Lots of people are like horses trying to steer themselves. If we a rider and horse are in sync with each other, it’s a smooth process and a thing of beauty. But…we have to be willing to be led. Solomon wrote in Prov. 1:5:
“…let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance…”
Prov. 1:5
Notice it’s the wise who listen and learn. We have to want it and be willing to follow even if there is a little pressure.
- You Can Use It for Good or Bad
And the third lesson James teaches us about our words is that you have a choice, you can use them for good or bad. We have probably all been on the wrong end of some bad words at one time or another. We might forget but James makes is really clear, our tongue is just a small part of who we are but it has a lot to do with who we are. He says in verse 5:
“Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.” vs. 5
It’s interesting here that he uses the idea of boasting. You know, it seems that boasting never has the effect that we think it will. We try to boast about what we’ve done or boast about some accomplishment and most of the time people are more critical of us and unimpressed. Yet, somehow we are sure it is going to have the opposite effect. James says it’s like a spark that burns a whole forest down. One small spark has the potential to burn down a whole forest of trees and our tongue, and a few choice words, has the potential to ruin our life.
The opposite is true as well, our words can bring healing and joy to someone who needs the love, peace, and joy of our God. Proverbs 16:24 says:
“Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Prov. 16:24
Ex. Trip to Colorado and I left my hip-pack with my wallet, credit cards, and id in SF airport. I luckily prepaid my taxi ride to the hotel. I get there, explain my plight to the woman at the front desk, and her words, “Don’t worry, I will help you and make sure you are taken care of.” And she did. My words later, a letter to her boss and hotel chain president about her professional manner and going the extra mile for me.
Famous Last Words
Let me finish with some famous last words. Word that will change your life. You’ve heard them before. Close your eyes. You know them, Hear them again.
“Father, forgive them, don’t know what they are doing.”
“Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit.”
“It is finished.”
Jesus said those words for you. He forgives you. He died for you. Nothing you’ve said or done will ever condemn you if you accept him and his free gift. We are moving into communion.
Communion
Prayer of salvation
Prayers of confession
