Sticks & Stones: The Impact of Words

James 3:1 – 12

 

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Most have likely heard those words said at school, in the face of schoolyard bullying. Some of you may have even said those words yourself as a kid. I know I said it at one time or another when I was a young kid.

 

It’s a common adage, a modern proverb almost, intended to teach kids to be resilient in the face of bullying. Its message is clear, physical harm is more significant than verbal insults, that sticks and stones hurt more than words.

 

As I grew up however, I learned that words indeed do hurt, and they often hurt more than sticks and stones. Words can evoke strong emotions, trigger bad memories, and damage self-esteem. Words can be used to manipulate, to control, and to inflict pain.

 

While the impact of physical harm can be painful, and lasting, physical wounds eventually heal. Words, however, can leave emotional and psychological wounds that may never fully heal. Words often have a much greater impact on a person than a big stick or a large stone.

 

The Bible, the Word of God, is not silent on this issue. You can hear God speak on the power of words throughout both testaments, the first and the second. But James here in our passage seems to have a singular focus in talking about the tongue.

 

If James’ letter ended with chapter 2, then you could probably say that he wasn’t concerned with words unless they were followed by action. Our passage for today, however, says otherwise.

 

James was very concerned with words. He recognized the power of the tongue, and he warned believers, and especially teachers about it. Let’s read God’s Word together: James 3:1 – 12.

 

The basic problem of self-deception and double mindedness that James brought up in chapter 1 is at the root of the problem with inactive faith that he confronted in chapter 2.

In the same way, James returns to theme of the tongue and speech that he brought up in 1:19 and 1:26. There, the bridling, or control, of the tongue and speech are key marks of Christian wisdom, that we’re supposed to ask God to give us.

 

The problem of the tongue, or speech, extends throughout the rest of the letter. We’ll see James bring it up again multiple times in the remaining chapters of his letter. While the problem of inactive faith affects others in that needs go unmet, the power of the tongue can be dangerous because it does have a powerful impact.

 

• Controlling the tongue and speech, controls and guides the body.

 

James was clearly preoccupied with the problem of false claims and deceit. You can see it in the way he talks about self-deception and double mindedness. You see it even more clearly when he points out that merely professing faith with your tongue isn’t enough evidence of genuine faith.

 

And so, considering all of that, James starts out here with a word of caution, a very noteworthy piece of advice for the church in the entire NT. Not many should become teachers, because we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

 

Being a teacher within the church is something for which a person is recognized. Some teachers even get fancy titles, like pastor, but even our Bible study teachers are known as Bible teachers. Being a teacher necessitates the ability to learn the Scriptures and how they apply to faith and life.

 

James isn’t teaching a double standard here. He’s not saying that the church’s teachers are required to live more strictly than other believers. All believers are to live a markedly Christian life. The message from James here is that those who teach will be judged with greater severity.

 

While all believers, teachers included ought to live authentic Christian lives, those who become teachers, or pastors, have a more powerful influence over other believers. That’s why James includes this advice to the church with his argument about controlling the tongue.

James here says we all stumble. He includes himself in that statement. The standard for teachers makes clear the danger of their failing, especially in the matter of speech. Yet human nature is prone to violating God’s standards. Remember Paul’s words in Romans 3:23, for all have sinned… that includes teachers and pastors.

 

This confession by James adds a dual effect here. Knowing that James himself stumbled in many ways puts the admonition to pursue perfection into perspective. Because believers stumble in many ways, their teachers need to be above reproach, to use Paul’s phrase, about their conduct, especially in the way they speak.

 

But controlling speech isn’t just for pastors and teachers, it’s for all believers. James’ “if” here is a big “if.” If a person doesn’t stumble in what he says, he’s perfect, in complete control of his whole body, of his actions. There’s that connection between words and actions again.

 

The person who doesn’t slip up in their speech is in total control of their actions. The concept of perfection here is the same Jewish concept of perfection and completeness that James said in the beginning of his letter is the result of the steadfastness produced by enduring trials.

 

The one who is complete control of his speech, guiding his whole body as if it were a bridled horse, has reached that complete maturity of faith that comes from enduring trials and living the Christian life. The reality is that no one, not even pastors and teachers ever truly get there on this side of heaven.

 

But that doesn’t negate the impact of the tongue, and the need to control it. James goes on to highlight how such a small part of the body has such a great impact by illustrating its impact through a horse and a ship. Just think of our massive cruise ships today. And they’re seamlessly guided across the open seas by rudders that are tiny in comparison. But those rudders are at the control of the person at the helm. The ship goes where they tell it to.

 

I’m not a horse rider, but I am a cow man, and I showed cows in FFA. I compare a bit and bridle to a halter, though the horse illustration is more powerful. We put bits into horses’ mouths or halters on cows so that they obey us, so that they go where we tell them to. That doesn’t always end well, but that’s an apt illustration itself about the power of the tongue.

There was girl in my high school class who had been showing cows for most of her life. She showed registered Holstein cows. Now, those are the black and white ones, and Holsteins have a propensity to get big, especially tall. In the show world, the taller the cow the better.

 

This girl was quite the opposite of tall. And one of her cows, an especially tall one, was particularly neurotic. That cow didn’t have the best vision, so she was easily spooked. Anyway, most seasoned show people owned a pair of rain slicks to wear when washing their cows in the wash racks at the fair, so that they could stay dry.

 

I’ll never forget this one quiet and calm summer morning at the Merced County Fair. I was mucking out the stall my own cows were in, when all the sudden the quiet hum of the morning in the barn was shattered by a shrill scream, and here comes her cow bolting across the grass with her owner sliding across the grass on her backside in rain slicks hanging on to the lead rope of the halter for dear life.

 

Of course, we all sprang into action to stop the cow from hurting her, anyone else, or even herself. But it was quite a comical scene, and once owner and cow were safely situated, we all had a good laugh over it.

 

That halter though, is like the tongue. Small, yet it boasts of great things. That halter though small leads a half ton animal. The bit in a horse’s mouth guides its entire body. The rudder of a ship directs it in the face of mighty winds.

 

But it’s not the cow, or the horse, or the ship that needs controlling, rather it’s the small thing, the halter, bit, or rudder that needs controlling. Like that, it’s the tongue that needs controlling. Something must be used to rein in and guide the tongue which then guides the rest of the person.

 

• The tongue cannot be tamed by human will power.

 

The true power of the tongue is brought into clearer focus now. Such a small part of the body is such a small spark that ignites a great forest. James can’t get any clearer, the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.

 

James is quite blunt here. A tiny spark causes a destructive forest fire, and a tiny tongue is the portal for the world’s greatest evils.

So much awful is spewed by the tongues of men, even teachers and pastors. We call those false teachers. But their impact is tremendous. So many souls are led astray by false teaching, and the tongue is the primary instrument used in teaching.

 

Contained within the tongue or speech are all the representations of evil in the world. It’s the concept of the total depravity of mankind. Man may not always act as wicked and sinful as man can, but the propensity and ability for it is there. The tongue may not always produce wickedness, but the ability for it is there.

 

But is the representation of evil, in speech that is, the same as the evil itself? No, but the power of verbal representation is not minimal, and James knew full well. Words have the power to illicit action.

 

Take Adolf Hitler for example. Just look at how that tiny little man impacted the world. It was by his words that he inspired multitudes to evil action. He didn’t overpower people as he rose to power, it was his speeches, his words, both spoken and written that led to that awful time in human history.

 

The power of the tongue is not be trivialized. It’s placed among the body, but it stains the whole body. Remember chapter 1, the religion of the person who doesn’t control their tongue is worthless, but religion that is pure and undefiled takes care of orphans and widows.

 

Remember Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Mark, it’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but rather what flows out of the mouth from the heart that defiles. Because out of the heart of man come evil thoughts.

 

And that’s what James is saying here. Corrupt speech corrupts the body; the corrupted body sets in motion the evil course of an entire life; and the destructiveness of evil speech comes straight from the pit of hell.

 

Mankind has been able to tame and domesticate so many different animals, every kind of beast and bird, reptile and sea creature, but the tongue, the tongue cannot be tamed by mankind. Not without divine help.

 

The tongue is a restless evil James says. He actually used the same word that called the double minded man in chapter 1 unstable.

There’s no ambiguity here. Like the double minded person in chapter 1 who could not really trust in God and so falls into evil, giving in to evil desires, so the tongue, because it’s uncontrollable, does the same. Eventually its propensity for evil gets the best of those who don’t keep it in check.

 

• The uncontrolled tongue is incompatible with genuine faith.

 

The capacity of the tongue to both give praise and to curse is a fundamental conflict that James was intent on pointing out. This inconsistency of speech is true of every believer. James didn’t use the inclusive “we” in this section of his letter by accident.

 

With our tongues we bless our Lord and Father, we sing songs to Him, we worship Him with our tongues, our speech, our voices. We praise God the Father, and we pray to God our Father, both privately and publicly with our tongues. To use the God given gift of speech to praise the Giver of every good and perfect gift, to exalt the God who chose us and befriended us, is the proper use of the tongue.

 

But that same tongue also turns against others, and the core issue with that is that those others have also been made in the likeness of God and curses them. This another dimension of insulting people, like showing partiality to the poor while professing faith in God.

 

The original stamp of being made in the likeness of God, though disfigured by sin, is still present in every person. It is to be respected and blessed, not made the object of curses. The human being was made for God, created to know God and to reflect the attributes of God. To dishonor any human being in some way dishonors God who created them.

 

That is such a hard truth to wrap our heads around, but it really hits the point of why we should do as James said in chapter 1, be quick hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. That person who cut you off on the freeway, yeah they’re made in the image of God too.

 

One of the first bits of wisdom that Rodney gave us when we first joined the church in Hilmar was this: someone will offend us, and we will offend someone. I’ve come to learn that said offense is usually through our words. But both parties are created in the image of God too.

How offenses, especially speech, are handled is of great importance in the life of the believer because the offender is also made in the image of God. I’m not saying to let the offender walk all over a person, but there are ways to express our feelings without dishonoring someone who just dishonored you.

 

James is clear on this, those who bless God out of one side of their mouths and curse their neighbors out of the other side are double-tongued in speech, like the double-minded man in 1:6 – 8. James simply says, this should not be.

 

He softens his tone; after preaching this direct message about the power of the tongue, he softens his tone. James spoke gently to his readers as “My brothers,” when he told them it shouldn’t be that way.

 

Him, his brothers, and believers today, all stumbled, and continue to stumble, in many ways, but they are not to tolerate a mixture of good and evil as a way of life. God did not create his children to lead a half-hearted way of life.

 

Even under great stress, pressure, and persecution, believers should resist the temptation to speak evil against fellow people, especially fellow believers.

 

Illustrating the point that mixing good and evil is incompatible and should not be, James gives examples from nature. Like the mouth, out of which flows a stream of words, out of a spring flows water. James asks if a single spring can put out both fresh and salt water, literally sweet and bitter water.

 

And bringing in the force of Jesus’ teaching that truth is seen in the fruit from His sermon on the mount, James uses the illustrations of the fig tree and the grapevine. Can they produce fruit that is not in keeping with their kind?

 

No, they can’t. And likewise, neither can a salty pond put forth fresh water. And the same can be said for the spring that produces fresh water. There’s reassurance in that. If the spring produces sweet, fresh water, then it will not produce bitter, salty water. The lesson in that illustration is that the heart that speaks life ought not pour out death. Those who truly praise God do not curse their brothers.

Because of the power of genuine faith, you can have control over your words and guide their impact for good to the glory of God.

 

James doesn’t explicitly mention it in our passage today, but in the context of what follows this passage and the larger context of James’ letter, we know that the tongue must be mastered by growing and maturing in faith, in gaining wisdom by asking God for wisdom and through careful and consistent study of God’s Word.

 

It’s the power of faith, as it matures, as it becomes perfect and complete, lacking nothing, that the tongue can be brought under control. It’s by the power of faith, that the small member of the body can be brought in line with the will of God, so that the rest of the body can act according to God’s will.

 

James wasn’t referring to a thoroughly new makeup of the person, though we know that if we are in Christ, then we are a new creation. But what James was referring to is true faith that does what is natural to it, both toward God and toward other human beings. Such faith praises and blesses with a tongue that is under control.

 

Let’s pray.