Sermon 18th October 2015

Today, one of our Lay Readers, Trevor Tayleur, continues our study of the book of James. The reading is from James 3, verses 1-18. 

Words and Wisdom

Sajid Javid, who was appointed Business Secretary in the Cabinet after the May General Election, tells this story about when he first became an MP in 2010. He was driving home from the count and turned to his wife and said: ‘Laura, did you ever imagine, in your wildest dreams, that one day I would actually be a Member of Parliament?’ And she looked at him in the eye and said: ‘Darling, in my wildest dreams, you don’t feature at all.’

Fortunately Sajid Javid was able to see the humorous side of his wife’s perhaps tactless response. But often ill-considered words can prove to be very hurtful and harmful, as James so vividly shows in today’s reading from his letter. In our Bibles, there are two headings in today’s passage, the first ‘Taming the Tongue’ and the second ‘Two Kinds of Wisdom’.  Although the headings don’t form part of the original text, they do summarise the main themes from James 3, and they are in fact closely connected.

There are two kinds of wisdom and there are two ways of going through life. There is a life that is based on the wisdom that comes from heaven – God’s wisdom. And there is wisdom that is ‘earthly’ – that has nothing to do with God’s wisdom. In chapter 3 James sets out what that means for the way we use our tongues – how we use words.

We may read these words from James and think that – we mustn’t lie, we mustn’t slander people behind their backs and we mustn’t insult people and belittle them with hurtful words. These are all very important things, and James had them very much in mind. A hurtful word can be devastating and have long lasting consequences. A small lie can lead to bigger lies and ultimately to the destruction of a relationship. And of course the Internet didn’t exist in James’s time. An ill-considered text message or tweet can literally spread around the world in a matter of a few hours – perhaps even quicker. We often use our mobile phones as an extension of our tongues.

James certainly puts his case very strongly. He was also referring to a bigger picture – the slipperiness of speech and how we use words. I’ll give an example, perhaps a trivial one, to show what I mean. There’s a supermarket which has its ‘Essential’ range of goods. ‘Essential’ means absolutely necessary, indispensable – you can’t do without it. Here are some of the things that this supermarket thinks we can’t do without: vermicelli nests, artichoke hearts, cappuccino mousse, cardamom and black pepper soap, ratatouille provencal and profiteroles. A trivial example, perhaps, but it shows how words can be manipulated to make us think that we really need items that are not remotely essential.

George Orwell, in his famous novel 1984 about the ultimate totalitarian state, was well aware of the power of words. He developed the fictional language ‘Newspeak’ which was to take the place of English. Newspeak’s aim was to remove even the possibility of rebellious thoughts by eliminating from the language the words by which people might be able to think rebellious thoughts.

In today’s society, indeed, words are often used to create an alternative reality. There have been calls to redefine what counts as a refugee to make it harder to qualify as one. By defining your political opponents as ‘scum’, it becomes OK to spit at them and to abuse them. Murderous suicide bomb attacks are called ‘martyrdom missions’ to justify the slaughter of innocents. Yes, words are slippery, they can be easily manipulated.

James emphasises the power of the tongue in no uncertain terms. And he also points out that it needs to be subject to the authority of God’s word. James tells us that the tongue is far more powerful than we can imagine, because he says that if we can control our tongues, we can control our entire person. That’s a very bold statement. And it’s a very positive statement. If we can get our tongues right, all else follows. But in contrast James paints a very negative picture of our ability to control our tongues.

James gives some very graphic images to show the power of the tongue. He likens our tongues to the bit in a horse’s mouth. The horse is a great animal which gallops with great power, yet the little bit in its mouth can be used to turn the mighty animal in the direction the rider wants it to go. There’s also a great ship in the ocean; that great ship is turned by a small rudder that’s under the water. In the same way the tongue can direct the course of our lives.

I don’t think many of us would have said that before we came to church this morning – that the tongue directs the course of our lives. If I ask, ‘What directs our lives?’ I wonder what our answers would be.  We might say our hearts, or our minds or our reason. But probably not our tongues. We might be tempted to think that James is giving our tongues too much authority. Yet if we think about, we will probably agree with James that the tongue is immensely powerful.

The horse has to have legs for the bit to be able to steer it. And indeed what moves us is what is inside, what is in our hearts. I don’t think James is saying the initial impetus of our lives comes from our tongues, but with our tongues we construct the reality of what is in our hearts. If we want to know what is in our hearts, then look at how we use our tongues.

James goes on to say that out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. And he goes on to give some examples that don’t exist in reality to press home his points. In answer to the questions he poses in verse 11: No, fresh water and salt water can’t flow from the same spring. And no, a fig tree can’t bear olives, nor a grapevine bear figs. These images don’t exist in reality.

When we live by a reality that isn’t God’s reality, then we create something that isn’t real. We create something that simply serves our own intentions and our own interests. James says that when we praise God but attack our brothers and sisters, that has as much place in God’s reality as a freshwater spring that produces salt water. They are inherently incompatible. One is real, the other is false. It’s made up; it’s an image and it’s a lie.

So, how can we tame our tongues? How can we use them in a Godly way? The answer lies in where we find our wisdom. As I said near the start, James said there are two kinds of wisdom, God’s wisdom and earthly wisdom – so-called wisdom that rejects God’s wisdom. The way to tame the tongue is to define reality not by our own interests, but by subjecting it to God’s reality – God’s reality that is revealed in God’s word and in his flesh in Jesus Christ. That becomes our lens through which we view reality. And that can help us to use our tongues properly.

What does God’s reality look like? The Bible is full of it. But for today I’ll stick to James. James has given us plenty of examples which we’ve looked at for the past few weeks.

In James chapter 2, as Ben explained to us two weeks ago, in the church we should not be showing favouritism. If we favour the rich over the poor, if we distinguish between rich and poor, we are creating a reality which is different from God’s reality where there is no such distinction – or perhaps even a bias towards the poor.

And also, as Simon explored last Sunday, faith and good works go together.  If we say we have faith but don’t show it through good works, then we are creating a false reality. Faith necessitates works. The more we learn about God’s word, the more we learn about the life of Jesus, the more we will be changed to become like Jesus.

It’s also very easy to use words to disguise reality in seemingly small ways, but those seemingly small ways can also be very damaging.  How easy it is to say to someone, ‘Let’s do lunch’ when you have no intention of doing lunch. Or to say, ‘Do drop by’, hoping that the person will never drop by. Or to say you’re going to do something when you don’t really mean it. When we do that, we’re using language to hide and to avoid facing the issues. Also, how easy it is to gossip behind someone’s back, to make snide remarks you wouldn’t make if the person was there.

When we say things like that, it’s salt and freshwater coming from the same spring. We’re contradicting God’s reality. And to tame our tongues, to get away from saying things we don’t mean and to avoid petty gossip, we need to tune into God’s wisdom.

James doesn’t mince his words here. The wrong kind of wisdom is bitter and arrogant. It is a spirit which is carping and critical. It may seem superficially wise, but in reality it is cynical and destructive.  And when a person with that kind of spirit claims to be a Christian, James has a sharp response. That sort of spirit is ‘earthly, unspiritual and demonic’.

Harsh words, but this earthly wisdom can be very pernicious in its effects. It may give some appearance of wisdom. Cynicism often does; it often has some appeal. You wouldn’t expect a demonic mind-set to make itself too obvious, would you! But the most notable thing about this earthly wisdom is that it drives people apart, instead of bringing them together. Instead of producing harmony, it brings about strife. A person with this type of wisdom may have a sharp brain and a persuasive tongue.  But their effect, whether in church, on committees or in a community group, is to cause trouble and hurt relationships. It’s a spirit that seeks to find fault without suggesting any solutions. Yes, we should stand up for what we believe in, but we should do it in a positive, constructive way.

James declares a special blessing in verse 18 on peacemakers. They will reap ‘a harvest of righteousness’. Right at the start of the letter James encouraged his readers to ask for wisdom as God will generously and graciously give us the wisdom we need. And now James tells us what that wisdom will look like. It’s not a question of knowledge or being a rocket scientist. The true wisdom produces right relationships. It brings people closer to each other and to God. James describes true wisdom in verse 17 as ‘pure … peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere’.

The cynic full of earthly wisdom might dismiss these characteristics as naïve and unrealistic. But what do we want in our church and community? What will build up our church and community? What sort of people do we want serving and helping us? Which one would you rather have as your neighbour? Someone full of bitter envy and selfish ambition? Or the peace-loving and considerate person? It is, as they say, a ‘no-brainer’.  The challenge for us is to become that neighbour ourselves, the peace-maker who builds up and who is willing to serve.

I’ll end with some words from the commentary on James by Tom Wright, the noted theologian and former Bishop of Durham; ‘These characteristics [that is the characteristics of heavenly wisdom] are hard to acquire and hard to maintain. They can only be sustained at great personal cost. They only appear when there has been a steady habit of prayer and self-discipline; even then they may take a while to show themselves. It would be worth spending time to work through the words in this list one by one [‘pure … peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere’]. Do it slowly. Review your life in the light of them. You might want to make a note of the times, the places, and particularly the people, that make it hard for you to live in this way – and then to pray for strength, and for this wisdom from above, to hold firm when the challenge comes round once more.’

Let’s pray: Father, help us to use our tongues wisely. Give us insight to follow James’s encouragement, so that we may live by your wisdom. Amen.

 

---

[i] 18 October 2015