Small, Yet Mighty

A favorite story some of our youth group kids from Vegas like to tell about me takes place late at night. A couple of the kids were at our house watching a movie. Afterwards, we drove two of them home. I don’t function well after 9:00 pm. As it was almost midnight, I was a little dazed in the passenger seat. My mind drifted to moose. I like moose, and I wondered, “What does a moose say?” Then, in the complete silence, as I stared out the window, my voice rang out. “Ahhhhmoooooo.” Suddenly, loud laughter erupted from our two kiddos and my husband. I realized I had spoken my thoughts aloud.

This was a time when my words caused fun laughter, but there are many times my words have been hurtful, hasty, unwise, or thoughtless. I’ve used my words to lie, flatter, argue, brag, curse, and gossip. There have also been times my words have been encouraging, helpful, and instructive.

“In Scripture, the tongue is variously described as wicked, deceitful, perverse, filthy, corrupt, flattering, slanderous, gossiping, blasphemous, foolish, boasting, complaining, cursing, contentious, sensual, and vile. And that list is not exhaustive.”[1] Scripture depicts how our words are used in good ways too. “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body” (Proverbs 16:24).

“The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life” (Proverbs 10:11a).

James introduced the taming of the tongue back in chapter 1: “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless” (1:26). From the beginning of his letter, James taught what genuine, living faith does and doesn’t look like. Words are a principal way our faith is revealed to be genuine and living.

The use of our words is so important to James that he references the use of words in every chapter of his letter and goes into greater detail in chapter 3. His teaching on words reflects his understanding of the Old Testament (particularly books like Proverbs). This week we will look at James’ initial insights regarding our words.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.[2]

James 3:1-5a

James begins by issuing a warning to aspiring teachers. Teachers referred to someone in an official teaching or preaching role. To understand the context, not many could read during the time of James’ writing. If you know history, this was true until the Enlightenment period in Europe in the late 17th to 18th centuries, and literacy wasn’t truly widespread until the 19th and 20th centuries. We are so used to the availability of printed and digital Bibles that we can forget that it hasn’t always been the case.

In James’ day and throughout much of church history, people depended on teachers who read, understood, and could teach Scripture. Thus, being a teacher was an esteemed position. Some pursued teaching for the wrong reasons. Because teaching was crucial for the church to learn doctrine, Paul wrote to Timothy: “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2, emphasis added). God’s Word needed to be taught, but it was to be taught by faithful men.

James warns that those who teach will be judged with greater strictness. “Probably we should understand him [James] to be saying that the importance of the teaching ministry renders it liable to a closer scrutiny and that failure to discharge the ministry faithfully will bring a correspondingly more severe penalty.”[3] James is not trying to discourage teachers, but rather he wants teachers and aspiring teachers to understand the seriousness of their ministry.

Before you dismiss the rest of James’ teaching on use of the tongue because you are not a teacher, remember, James addressed all his readers in 1:26. James began with the warning to aspiring teachers because a teacher’s primary means of ministering is through words – spoken and written, but bridling our tongues is something everyone needs to heed.

“For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body” (vs 2). In case you still think that James is addressing teachers only, note his use of we all. No one is exempt from what he has to say.

Stumble is a term for sinning or figuratively for a spiritual failure. The Greek verb tense means it is a continual failure to do what is right.

Many ways specifies a variety of sins. We all continue to fail to do what is right in a variety of ways. We sin in different ways from each other. My sin struggle is not the same as your sin struggle. However, there is one way that we all sin: our words.

We know that we will not be perfect this side of heaven, so James is not describing a hypothetical perfect man. Likely James is characterizing a spiritually mature person who can control their tongue. If someone is spiritually mature to be disciplined in controlling their tongue, they are likely disciplined to control other areas of their life. We will see in James’ first two illustrations why he equates controlling the tongue to controlling the whole body.

“3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.”[4]

These two illustrations would have been familiar to everyone in James’ audience. Both show the paradox between a small member controlling the much larger whole. The small is influential over the big. What should be noted, though, is that the bridle and the rudder are both being controlled by a person – the rider and the pilot respectively. The person controls the direction. The bridle and rudder are just the means to accomplish what the person wills.

James then brings these illustrations back to the tongue. “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things” (vs 5a). We have both internal (thoughts) and external speech. All our speech flows from our hearts.

“33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil”[5] (Matthew 12:33-35).

Our words don’t pour forth out of nothing. Our tongue doesn’t operate independently. What is going on in our hearts is what controls and directs our words. James challenges our sinful heart motivations in chapter 4. “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you” (vs 1)? What is in our hearts is what drives our words, our interactions with others, and reveals whether we have genuine, living faith.

Like the bridle and the rudder, the tongue is a small part of our body, yet James says it boasts of great things. Boasts in James’ usage doesn’t contain the usual negative connotation associated with it. James is conveying that the tongue legitimately has great effects, – good and bad – like the bridle influencing the whole horse or the rudder influencing the whole ship. It is small, yet mighty.

There are days when controlling my tongue and countering the sin in my heart that my words flow from seems like a hopeless battle, but it is not hopeless. God is a God of change. He is transforming my heart and your heart. He has already made us new creations. He has promised to complete the work He has begun in us. We have the Holy Spirit indwelling us. We are slaves to righteousness not to sin. We can hide God’s Word in our hearts. We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us see the sinful motivations in our hearts. We can be encouraged that though we often sin in our words, God has given us many ways to use our words for life, encouragement, building up, and God’s glory. We can rest in knowing that there was a Perfect Man who always bridled His tongue. Jesus’ words were life and hope. His words’ were always perfect for every situation. He knew when to speak and when not to speak. Jesus’ words were always truth in love. His words always glorified the Father. For those in Christ, we have His perfect record of bridling the tongue.

Reflection

1.     Think of a time this past week when you did not bridle your tongue. What was going on in your heart that overflowed in your words?

2.     Describe a time your bridled words changed the direction of a situation in a way that glorified God. How did it impact the other people involved? How did they respond?

3.     Think of your words in general. Are they evidence of a genuine, living faith? Give an example why or why not.

[1] MacArthur, John F.. James: Guidelines for a Happy Christian Life (MacArthur Bible Studies) (p. 52). HarperChristian Resources. Kindle Edition.

[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jas 3:1–5.

[3] Douglas J. Moo, James: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 16, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 124.

[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jas 3:3–4.

[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 12:33–35.