Last year we did a short series from the book of James called Authentic in which we looked at the practical teachings James gives to Christians from chapter 1. It is my plan to come back to this book from time to time to listen to the wisdom and critical teachings James has for us. One of the areas that James spends quite a bit of time talking about is the tongue. In James 3 we see James talk about taming the tongue the direction, the destruction, and the discernment of the tongue. Lord willing, this will be our plan for the next three weeks. We will talk about the direction of the tongue, the destruction of the tongue, and the discernment of the tongue. For our lesson this evening we are going to talk about the direction of the tongue.
The Challenge of the Tongue (James 3:1-2)
As you come to this section of James’ book, James introduces his teaching on the tongue in a jarring way. James opens in verse 1 of chapter 3 with the proclamation that many should not be teachers because those who teach will receive a stricter judgment. Part of the reason is given in verse 2. We all stumble in many ways and being a teacher is just another way to stumble and to be judged with greater strictness. In short, the point James is making is that it is hard to say everything right. Being a teacher means that there are far more opportunities to say something wrong. It is a pretty simple equation that James offers. The more we talk, the more opportunities to stumble. As a reminder, James already instructed his readers to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger because human anger does not produce God’s righteousness (cf. James 1:19).
Now James will go on to say something that can be hard to believe the first time we read it. Look at what James says in verse 2. “And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.” Friends, this is an extraordinary statement. What James just said is that if you can control your tongue, then you can control your body. James further points out that the mature, complete, or perfect person controls the tongue. Spiritual maturity is in controlling the tongue. The Proverbs teach the same point.
Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. (Proverbs 21:23 ESV)
What did the writer of Proverbs say? He said that if you control your tongue then you control your body. He said if you control your tongue, you can keep yourself out of trouble and calamity. James says that if we do not stumble in what we say, then we have hit maturity and are able to control the whole body. Now I think James realizes that many people are going to argue with this point. How could controlling the tongue control the whole body? How could controlling the tongue mean that we are mature and perfect? How can he say this about the tongue? How could this proposition be true? James is going to prove this point with two illustrations in verses 3-4.
The Power of the Tongue (James 3:3-5)
The first illustration is in verse 3. James says that when we put bits in the mouths of horses, we are able to make them obey us and able to direct their whole bodies. It is a simple illustration but very effective. You can control the whole body of a horse by something that it in the horse’s mouth. You can make the whole body of the horse obey you when you have a bit put in the horse’s mouth.
Then James moves on to his second illustration to prove the point that if you control the tongue, you will control the body. Look at verse 4. James asks his readers to consider ships. Even though they are very large and even though strong winds can push the ship, the ship is still guided by a very small rudder. Please think about how James words this illustration in verse 4. The will of the pilot directs the ship by a very small rudder even though the ship is very large and is driven by strong winds. Both illustrations also seem hard to believe. You can control a powerful horse with a small bit in the mouth. You can control a large ship in the strong storm with a very small rudder. James draws the same conclusion at the beginning of verse 5. The tongue has great power. The tongue has the power for destruction, which he will talk about in the next few verses. We will look at that point, Lord willing, next week. But the tongue also has the power for direction, which is what these first two illustrations represents. The tongue has the power to control the body. The tongue has the power to control the direction for your life. To state this another way, we can steer the direction of our lives with our tongues. Listen to some of the Proverbs that make this point.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. (Proverbs 18:21 ESV)
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1 ESV)
The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off. (Proverbs 10:31 ESV)
There are so many biblical proverbs that teach that what you say is going to direct your life and affect your life. The tongue is to the person what the bit is to the horse and the rudder is to the large ship. The tongue has the power to steer your life. Now I want us to think about how true this statement is by thinking about your own life and by thinking about the lives of others. Have you seen people’s lives ruined because of what they said? Have you seen people go through hard times because of the words they uttered? Have you seen people have more problems in life because they spoke foolish words or evil words rather that right and good words? Have you seen people get in trouble in life because they did not hold their tongue? I think it is not hard to see the power of the tongue when we think about it. The tongue is very powerful when it comes to setting the direction of our lives.
The Practice of Self-Control
But now I want to bring us back to verse 2. The illustrations of verses 3-4 were used to prove what he said in verse 2. If you can control your tongue, then you can bridle the whole body as well. The point is that there is great strength and self-control needed to tame the tongue. This point is made even more so in verse 8 where James proclaims that no one can tame the tongue because it is a restless evil. Obviously, James cannot mean this in an absolute sense. Otherwise, we would not be condemned for not taming our tongue. We would just defend ourselves by saying that no one can tame the tongue. The point is for us to understand the high degree of difficulty and the extraordinary control we must possess to tame the tongue. We are commanded to tame the tongue. But it is not as easy as it might sound. We even see this in verse 5. As small as the tongue is, it sure does boast a lot and say big things.
When we think about the need for self-control in our lives, we need to think about the first application to our tongues. We can control our tongues. We must choose to control our tongues. We should want to control our tongues because it will set the direction and course for our lives. Here is the ultimate problem: if we are not controlling our tongues, then our tongues are controlling us. This is exemplified very well in the life of Jesus.
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. (1 Peter 2:21-23 ESV)
Consider that part of the example Jesus left for us was his self-control with his mouth. When the people were maligning and reviling Jesus, Jesus did not say maligning or malicious words back. Jesus did not use his tongue to threaten people even when he was suffering. Jesus did not use his tongue to lie or be deceitful. Listen to how David put this goal for himself also.
I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.” (Psalm 39:1 ESV)
David says that he is going to be watchful in what he is doing so that he will not sin with his tongue. Notice that David is going to take an active role in protecting his tongue by keeping himself from situations that would provoke his tongue. Not only this, David says he will guard his mouth with a muzzle when in the presence of the wicked. David knew that he needed to be even more careful with his words when he was around other people.
If we will allow God to be in control of our tongues, then we can allow God to be in control of our lives. If we can exercise self-control with the tongue, then we can exercise self-control with our bodies. If we will set our tongues to be God-honoring and controlled, then we will have set our bodies on the course to be God-honoring and controlled.
Let me conclude with an implied point that James is making to us. We have control over our tongues. We can watch what we say. We are able to tame the tongue. The will of the pilot directs the ship with the rudder. Your will directs your life with your tongue. You have power over your tongue. Spiritual maturity is seen in your words. Please think about this. What you say to people reveals your spiritual maturity. How you talk to people, how you handle difficulties, and how your tongue handles the normal currents of life shows your depth of maturity. Jesus guarded his tongue and was careful with all his words. If we do not work to tame our tongues, then what hope is there for taming the rest of our bodies? James will make that point at this end of this chapter. But I wanted us to think about it now. Control the tongue and you will control the direction of your life.