The Power of the Tongue
James 3:16-12
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings…” vs.9
The Change in Word Use
Put on your thinking caps for just a moment and think about this; according to Graph.net there are 6.8 billion people in the world who speak over 7,000 languages. That’s a lot of different languages but, of course, there are some languages that are more prominently spoken around the world. So…can you name the top 5 spoken languages in order of the most spoken. As you guess them they will appear on the screen.
Top 10 spoken languages in the world
1. Chinese 1.2 billion speakers
2. Spanish 329 million speakers
3. English 328 million speakers
4. Arabic 221 million speakers
5. Hindi 182 million speakers
Honorable mention of 6 through 10
6. Bengali 181 million speakers
7. Portuguese 178 million speakers
8. Russian 144 million speakers
9. Japanese 122 million speakers
10. German 90 million speakers
So projections by graph.net says this is going to change. By 2050, here are the projected top 5 languages that will be spoken:
1. Chinese
2. Hindi
3. English
4. Spanish
5. Arabic
The interesting thing about this is that if we want to communicate effectively with people and those of other cultures, it may be important to know the right languages and their cultural background. As you know, you can use a word that may be fine in one cultural and not so fine in another. Today we are going to look at the importance of our words. James gives us some food for thought on this in James 6:6-12. If you are able, please stand as we read God’s Word.
Read Passage – James 3:6-12
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.
7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Limited Control
Since the beginning of time, God gave us our tongue to glorify him and to have a limited control of things on earth. Genesis 1:26 states:
“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Genesis 1:26
So we are made in God’s image and likeness but our control was always intended to be limited. Adam even had the privilege of walking and talking with God. That must have been cool. The control we were given was over the animals, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures. We have distorted that control and extended it to be over ourselves. As God never intended Israel to have a king, he wanted to be their king, so we were never intended to control each other and even ourselves but to have God be over us. Part of that “ruling over” is that one way we can control the animals is through our words. God even gave us the authority to name them in Gen. 2:19. Verse 7 of our passage today talks about us taming the animals:
“All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind…” vs. 7
One of the ways that taming comes is through our words. So, we feel a bit of control and power that comes with the idea of taming things like the animals.
Untamable
Ever been to the circus or sea world or a zoo? I love to see how those trainers can work with animals and train them and tame them. They teach them to do tricks and acts that I am amused by and stunned by. But there is some bad news that James gives us here in verse 8, he says:
“…but no human being can tame the tongue.” vs. 8
We can tame and train a lot of things but James makes it really clear here, we cannot tame our tongue. Sounds a bit hopeless. Here is what I believe God is trying to get us to consider through this statement, we cannot totally tame our tongue but we still have some choices to make on how we live our life. We also want to live in such a way that we are wanting to live more like Jesus.
The Choices of Our Words
Here’s what James does for us. He gives us three word pictures that are also choices that we have to make when it comes to how we use our words. These are important choices and need to be considered carefully.
- Praise or Curse
The first choice comes in verses 9 and 10:
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” vss.9-10
The picture here is our conversation and interactions with others and ultimately with God himself. Remember I mentioned that Adam walked and talked with God in the garden. I believe that some of that conversation must have been praise. I could just hear Adam saying something like: “You created that God? Wow! That is beautiful. God you are so incredible.” But here is the thing, sin entered. Satan was right when he told Adam and Eve that eating of the fruit would make them like God. We were created in his likeness. Yes, we are “like” God but the reality is that we are not God. God could use his words and call things into being, we cannot. God used his words to instruct and guide. We may be made in his image but we are not God. Satan on the other hand, he used his words to manipulate and mislead and to drive a wedge between God and man.
We have the same choice in our lives today. We can recognize God’s wonderful creation and praise him. But…do you know the opposite of praise, yes, curse. We were created to praise but we have chosen to use our words to curse. David encourages us in Psalm 66 to let God’s praise be on our tongue:
“I cried to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.” Psalm 66:17
We cannot be in union with God and be on the same page as him if we are using our words to curse others. God is saying: “I created him/her, I made them in my image. And you are curing them? No, I love them.”
Ex. One thing I love is my wife and kids. Now I know my kids faults and I know just as well if not better than anyone their short comings. But here is the thing; you better not talk bad about them around me. Why? Because I get defensive. Those are my kids. God has that same sense and even greater when it comes to his kids.
Exercise: Turn to the person next to you and just say one thing you appreciate about them. How did that make you feel? How did it make them feel? See, wew need more of that in our life.
- Refreshing or Bitterness
The second picture he gives us concerns water, and he says in verse 11:
“Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?” vs.11
The choice is pretty clear through the illustration, we can choose words that are refreshing and life giving or we can choose words that are bitter and destructive.
Ex. After a workout – So refreshing to have a big glass of ice cold water Can you think of a time when you would want to have a big glass of salt water? As a kid my mom made me rinse my mouth with salt water to avoid or get rid of sores in your mouth. Oh, I hated that.
James points out that these two waters can’t come from the same source the same spring. This reflects or deeper person, that we can be people that use our words to bring refreshment to others lives or we can bring a bitterness that hurts and is repulsive to people.
Ex. Don’t really try this but do you know what happens when you take a big gulp of salt water? You choke. You gag. Literally, if we are using words that are bitter and harmful to people we are choking them and making them gag.
Paul writes in 1 Thess. 5:14
“And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with one another.” 1 Thess. 5:14
If you are taking notes, circle “encourage the disheartened.” We live in a world where we have people using their words to tear down and oppress.
Ex. The increase in bullying in our schools and even worse with internet.
- Fruitfulness or Fruitlessness
The third choice comes from the illustration of tress, and more specifically fruit trees. Verse 12 says:
“My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?” vs. 12
Our choice is that our words can bear good fruit or bad fruit and in some cases no fruit at all. Jesus said in Luke 6:45 that the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. The idea is that you are what you are. You cannot change what you are in your heart and your words will eventually reveal what is in your heart.
Ex. Animals like a dog. They can be friendly, loving, and the greatest pet but at some point they will always remind you they are a dog. Right? They will do something like eat of sniff something disgusting, etc.
Jesus reiterates this same concept in Matt. 7:17 when h e says:
“Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” Matt. 7:17
This goes back to one of the things that we talked about earlier, that we were created to praise and worship God. At the core we have that in us. Our words should reflect that and show that to the world.
Challenge: To make the choice to use words that bear fruit.
Important Words To Hear
The difficult thing about this is that we cannot do it on our own. Remember James teaches us that our tongues are not able to be tamed. But…we still have choices to make and we need to make every effort to be people that praise, refresh and bear fruit. Now we cannot tame our tongue but there is one that can. God asks us to trust him and to trust in his Son. Jesus showed us through his words that the tongue can be tamed and that our words can make a difference; with his help.
I thought it would be good to end with some important words. Word we need to hear and words that speak to our life. Words of Jesus.
“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” John 10:10
“And surely I am with you always…” Matt. 28:20
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matt. 11:28
