“It Ought Not Be So”
I am preaching through the book of James on Sundays, and recently dealt with chapter 2:1-12 where James speaks of the power and the danger of the tongue. He reminds us that the tongue, though small, has the power, both to help and to hurt. He even goes so far as to say, “If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man…” James declares here, that if you do not sin with your mouth, you can be considered perfect.
But in the previous phrase he had said, “For we all stumble in many ways.” So we see that such perfection is not possible in this world. The truth is that no one controls the tongue perfectly.
In verse 9, James shares a haunting truth about the tongue. “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.” What a tragedy!
James says that we go to worship and sing songs of praise, and later that day we speak in a nasty way to, or about, another person. It could be that we go to church in the morning and are deeply moved by the worship. And yet, at lunch in the restaurant, we snap at our server, giving her a piece of our mind. Never mind that most of us do not have enough mind to give away a piece.
In verse 10 we read, “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” Can you hear the sigh of frustration in James’ voice? These two things, blessing and cursing, are contradictory. They should not come from the same mouth.
More than one Christian has harmed his or her reputation by one foolish sentence or exclamation. More than one nonbeliever has given up on Christianity because of something said to them. Should we not be more careful with our words?
Momma said, “Think before you speak.” She also said, “If you don’t have something nice to say, then say nothing.” Momma was right.
I pray that I will be more careful with the things that I say. I pray the same thing for you. Let us take care to use our words for good. Let us point others to the Lord with the things that we say.
