10/30 Sermon on James, Part 6

This past Sunday at Gainesville's Family Church, Pastor Philip Griffin began Chapter 3 in his sermon series on the New Testament book of James, focusing on how uncontrollable the tongue is.  Here are the verses he covered, once again in the New International Version as provided by Bible Gateway:

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. ² We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
³ When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴ Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵ Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶ 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.

So, as the pastor pointed out, that old nursery rhyme "Sticks and stones can break my bones but names will never hurt me" isn't at all true, as broken bones will completely heal in a few months but words of derision and ridicule can have a lifelong negative effect.  It is important to be careful about what we say, but ultimately we screw up...well, at least speaking for myself, I screw up from time to time.  According to James, the effects of an uncontrolled tongue is similar to that of a great forest fire, out of control...it cannot be tamed.  So what hope is there in all this, then?  As Pastor Philip pointed out, what we say in the end reveals what is in our hearts.  And if we have turned our hearts over to God, then He will reveal himself through our words of compassion and grace.  And that is the only way to control the tongue...