Recapitation 2008.02.27

Last night we had a great discusison about James 3. Yep, the whole chapter.

Some observations:

James talks a lot about the tongue and compares it to a rudder on a ship, a bit in a horse's mouth and a fire consuming a forest. He also mentions that humility comes from wisdom. There are two kinds of wisdom; wisdom that comes from heaven which is "first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere", and earthly wisdom which is "unspiritual...[and] of the devil". In verse 10 James seems to be calling his readers, which are Messianic Jews, hipocrytes by saying "this should not be".

The size of the tongue is emphasized based on the metaphors when James writes, "Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts."


Some interpretations:

Based on the metaphors it is difficult to "tame" the tongue, but it was discussed and widely accepted that we can help control it by being wise and keeping our personal sin (such as bitter envy) in check. Much like a fire can be harnessed to keep you warm or can destroy an infinite number of things if left unchecked, the tongue is powerful in both good ways and bad. With that said, Bernie stated that the "sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me" saying is pretty much crap. Words are powerful and the tongue has the power of life and death.

Here he may also be warning teachers against teaching with the afore-mentioned "earthly wisdom". This ties back to an earlier verse in James (James 1:19) that says we ought to be "slow to speak". Think carefull about what you say because your words are very powerful.


Some application:

James refers directly to teachers here, but it was mentioned that if you are trying to guide someone in any way, including giving advise to that person, you should avoid being selfish and "harboring bitter envy". Maybe it's not about being right all the time. If your goal is to be right and not to edify the person you're talking to, then you're probably being selfish. In the same vain, talking junk about someone is not helpful either and does not come from heaven.

We were challenged to think about where in our lives we may be "starting fires" with our words. Much like a fire, once the words are said there's no taking it back. Once the fire has touched something it's burnt and there's no "un-burning" it. The only place to go from there is grace and this is what these verses lead us to toward the end.

Living in community with people is practically a guarantee that you will be hurt by something someone says. Recognizing that and applying grace in that situation will go a long way toward maintaining the type of community God has in mind for His church. This application of grace will likely look different to different people and in different situations, but grace is needed nonetheless.

Thanks to Bernie for facilitating the discussion. Grace and peace to you.*











* Yes, I borrowed that from Mars Hill. It's a powerful phrase though. You should listen to Rob Bell speak on grace and peace. It's the January 6th teaching.