The Arsonsist Within -- Our Tongue
In the third chapter of the Book of James, the brother of our Lord has much to say about the power of the tongue, and the damage we can do to others through our words. The tongue might seem small (in comparison to the rest of our bodies), but like a horse’s bridle, or a ship’s rudder, James warns us not to let the tongue’s small size fool us in regard to its power. As James says in verse 5, “the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.” James goes on to lament, “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.”
Our tongue reveals the sin that is hidden deep within in our hearts. Like nothing else can, the words we speak reveal the extent of our inherent unrighteousness. Our innate sinfulness is so entrenched that James can say “no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (v. 8). “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.” James’ words echo the ninth commandment of the law of God (Cf. Exodus 20:16), where we are commanded not to bear false witness against our neighbor.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism describes what is required by the ninth commandment as follows. In question 78, it is asked, “What is forbidden in the ninth commandment?” Answer: “The ninth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever is prejudicial to truth, or injurious to our own, or our neighbor’s, good name.” The question and answer reflects the passage from James.
My tongue reveals audibly how I feel about my neighbor in my heart. Spontaneously and all-too easily, I will either curse them, or speak ill of them. The default setting of sinful human nature is to speak ill of our neighbor, curse them, as James says, or else speaking untruthfully of them as mentioned in the commandment.
The warning from James and the words of the ninth commandment summarized in the 78th question and answer of the catechism are intended to do two things. The first thing the reminder about our own sinfulness–as manifest in our inability to control our tongues–is intended to do, is to show us just how sinful we truly are. Imagine, for a moment, that everything you’ve said (or even worse, thought) this day was recorded and then played back before all those who were mentioned in your conversation. While there might be a few words of blessings, more than likely, your words cursed someone created in God’s image, and were often spoken to belittle, accuse, or otherwise speak ill of them. The realization of the fact that we are law-breakers (remember, it is James who also reminds us that if we break God’s law in but one place, we are guilty of having broken all of it–James 2:10) should drive us to Christ to seek forgiveness for our sins (Galatians 3:19-25;1 John 2:1-2).
The second thing the law is intended to do is to show us what God expects of us now that we are Christians whose sins have been forgiven through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. As the old Reformed theologians used to speak, the law is both the teacher of sin and the rule of gratitude. God expects us to cease cursing our neighbor and speaking ill of them. Self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23). Having shown us how sinful we are, the ninth commandment shows us what God expects of us. The Holy Spirit works in us the desire not to curse our neighbor or speak ill of them, and gives us the power to guard our words.
And yet, because indwelling sin remains within us (Galatians 5:17), we’ll keep on cursing our neighbor and speaking ill of them in open violation of the law of God. This is why we take heart in knowing that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8), and why we should take great comfort in the fact that Jesus Christ (whose righteousness is imputed to us through faith) never once cursed his neighbor, nor spoke ill of them.
It is only by considering the gravity of our sin and the wonder of God’s grace (especially in the fact that Jesus died for all those times we’ve cursed our neighbor, and that he never once cursed or spoke ill of anyone), that the power of the tongue can be controlled. While we will never stop sinning until we die, or the Lord returns (whichever comes first), the fact that God considers us as though we had never cursed our neighbor and ruined their reputation with our words, because Christ’s perfect righteousness is reckoned to us through faith, becomes the means through which God restrains our sinfulness.
When we consider the way Jesus spoke of others, and then consider how God views our neighbor, only then do the words which have the power to destroy entire forests, become words of blessing.