Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body

James 3:1-2

James has a lot to say about the Christian’s speech (1 :19, 26). In chapter 3 of his letter he attacks the problem at length by beginning with teachers. Proverbs 10:19 says, “when words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.” This puts teachers in a pickle. To teach they must use “many words” and yet still must show prudence and restraint. Teachers are “judged with greater strictness” because of the influence their words have on others. Careless words can easily set people down the wrong path. James’ warning echoes the words of Jesus in other places (Mt. 12:33-37; 15:14; Lk. 12:48; Mk. 12:40).

“We all stumble in many ways.” In contrast to the diversity of ways we stumble, we all fail in our speech. James says that if we learn to tame our tongues we will also be able “to bridle [our] whole body,” i.e. our lives.

James goes on to write about the impact of our words (Jas. 3:3-6). He contrasts the disproportionate impact between the size of two instruments—bit and rudder—and the objects they control—horse and ship. Just as the bit determines the direction of a big horse and a rudder can steer a huge ship, the tongue can determine the destiny of a whole person. If we could control our speech we could direct our lives in their proper, divinely charted course; we would, in fact, be “perfect” (2). But when our tongue is unrestrained, our whole lives are out of control.

The tongue is little but lethal. James likens its destructive potential to a small spark that starts a forest fire (Prov. 16:27). The tongue is like a little world all of its own containing all kinds of evil (6), because through speech much evil finds expression. Our entire “course of life,” from the cradle to the grave, can be scorched by tongues set on fire by the flames of hell itself. Therefore, we need to appreciate the impact words can have. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” (Prov. 18:21)

Next, James explains the difficulty of control (Jas. 3:7-8). He alludes to creation in the four-fold division of the animal kingdom (beast, bird, reptile, sea creature, Gen. 1:26). All these animals have been “tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue.” This statement does not give us license to say what we want because we just can’t help it. Rather, it’s an admission of our weakness and a warning to keep our tongues on a tight leash. We dare not give it free reign. “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” (Prov. 29:11)

Notice James does not say “the tongue cannot be tamed” but “no human being can tame the tongue.” Therefore, we look beyond ourselves to God for help. With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. We must learn to pray with the psalmist, “Set a guard over my mouth, keep watch over the doors of my lips.” (Psa. 141:3)

Finally, James writes of the nature of speech (Jas. 3:9-12) and how it reveals the heart. James warned earlier against being “double-minded” which leads to an unstable life (1:7-8). Here he warns of being double-tongued. “With [our tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people made in the likeness of God.” Contradictory speech from a forked tongue reveals a corrupt heart. Echoing Jesus (Mt. 12:33-37), James appeals to nature to show how “these things ought not to be so.” Fig trees don’t bear olives, grapevines don’t produce figs and you can’t get salt water from a fresh water spring. Likewise, if our hearts are cleansed in Christ (Psa. 51:10), how can we spew forth such filth? “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” There must be a consistency in our speech (Mt. 5:33-37). Christians ought to be “blessing-only” people rather than “blessing and cursing” people.

These warnings about speech lead us back to the cross for chastening and cleansing (Jas. 4:7-10). Let us examine our communication in light of what Jesus did for us. The gospel can act as a filter, training us to use our lips to bless and heal instead of curse and wound. “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Eph. 5:29) “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Col. 4:6)

Angry words! O let them never

From the tongue unbridled slip.

May the heart’s best impulse ever

Check them ‘ere they soil the lip.

Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.

1 Corinthians 10:11

Some of the Corinthians, secure in their knowledge that “there is no God but one” (8:4), believed they were free to continue to frequent pagan temples participating in the cultic meals and even engaging in sexual activity with temple prostitutes (when humans invent religions, we are apt to mix debauchery in with it and call it ‘sacred’). Paul has to pump the breaks and tell them that these idolatrous practices are way out of bounds for the Christian. One of the ways he persuades them that their choices will lead to total disaster is by reminding them of what happened to the wilderness generation of ancient Israel.

Like the Corinthians, the wilderness generation had been rescued by God from slavery; had been baptized as they passed through the waters; and had enjoyed God’s presence, guidance and provision. “Nevertheless, with most of them, God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.” (5) Why? Because, as Paul goes on to explain, they practiced idolatry similar to that which the Corinthians were engaged in. So he drives home the point with the reminder, “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.” (6, also 11)

Christians must be students of biblical history lest we repeat the errors of the past. But too often, the lessons of history are lost on us because we read it assuming we would never be guilty of the crimes of our spiritual ancestors. We read history from the comfort of the present certain that we would have been one of the good guys. We easily relate to Joshua and Caleb over the other ten cowards, wondering why those boneheads wouldn’t just trust God, especially after all they had seen God do for them in the exodus! Surely, we would have had faith… wouldn’t we?

Most people today read the history of Nazi Germany and assume they would have been just like Oskar Schindler, saving thousands of lives from the evil Third Reich. We rarely read history as the perpetrator and almost always cast ourselves in the role of the hero. We smugly assume we would have landed on the “right” side of every moral dilemma of history, but only because hindsight is always 20/20. Of course we can see things more clearly after they have happened! The real test is whether we are doing the right thing now.

Robert George, a scholar and political philosopher at Princeton, used to conduct a thought experiment with his students. He would ask them, “If you were alive during the Civil War, how many of you would be full-scale abolitionists?” And every hand in the room would immediate shoot up. Everyone thinks of himself as the hero of history when they know the past.

Israel’s history is given to the church as an example. Scripture candidly records the failures of the people of God in embarrassing detail. Our track record is checkered: there are great moments of triumphant faith but there are also many shameful denials, acts of brutality, selfish deceptions and destructive arrogance. We are to learn from the failures as well as the successes. Reading the Bible for all its worth means putting ourselves in the position of those in the story and honestly examining our hearts.

Try it next time you read the gospel accounts. Instead of simply telling us how to respond to Jesus, the gospel authors use the different reactions of people to show us how to, or how not to, respond. As we read through Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, pause and ask yourself:

• How do these different people react to Jesus?
• What are their motivations behind their behavior?
• What happened as a result of their actions?
• Do I resemble one of the people in the story?

Even though the gospel accounts are historical, they were written with an agenda. The Spirit-inspired authors wrote to persuade us to acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus and respond with faith. One way they persuade us is by convicting us of sin as we see ourselves in the stories. These things “were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” Beware of casting yourself as the hero of every story. The question is not the hypothetical “Would we have really listened to the prophets?” but the practical “Are we listening to the word of God now?” The wilderness generation, Pharaoh, the Pharisees, Cain, Balaam, Herod, Pilate, Diotrephes, Uzziah and the rest are not there to make us feel morally superior. They stand in Scripture as warnings to the church of what we are capable of. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.

1 Peter 5:6

Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” is a 1970’s pop classic with its hum-along melody and biting lyrics describing a self-absorbed boyfriend. The refrain highlights the song’s theme of narcissism: “You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you.” Vanity is sneaky and gets the better of us more often than we would like to admit. We often think only in terms of self — how things effect me, myself and I.

We’ll call this arrogance ‘Ptolemaic Vanity.’

Ptolemy was a 2nd century Greek astronomer who advanced the theory of Plato and Aristotle that the earth was at the center of the universe with all other celestial bodies revolving around it. Ptolemy’s geocentric model of the cosmos was, of course, proven wrong, but not before being accepted by the Roman Catholic Church and most of the Western world through the Middle Ages. Ptolemy’s model seemed to support the Judeo-Christian belief that the earth holds a special place in creation and is unique among the cosmos. But just because humanity is the central concern in God’s plan of redemption (theology) doesn’t make humanity the center of the physical universe (astronomy). Many people attempted to prop up this mistaken theory by interpreting poetic texts and metaphorical language in the Bible with literal meanings (Psa. 104:5). Some things never change.

Copernicus came along in the 16th century and proposed the heliocentric model of the universe with the sun at the center and the earth and other planetary bodies moving around it. Later, Johannes Kepler refined the Copernican model by describing planetary orbits as elliptical. Since then, we could no longer think of ourselves as the center of the universe.

But sometimes we still do.

We betray this kind of Ptolemaic vanity when we only interpret events in terms of how they effect us personally. This spiritually immature condition makes it impossible to see beyond ourselves and our own concerns. But the world is much bigger than “me” and “my” own perception. We are not the one fixed point around which the entire universe turns. We are very important to God, but not that important! Developing this humble view of ourselves will save us a lot of trouble in life.

Have you ever fallen prey to this vanity? Perhaps, like me, you have an active imagination that gets away from you. Perhaps, stewing in the wake of some trial you imagine what other people are thinking of you and saying about you behind your back. You allow these baseless suspicions to run amok in your imagination. But, most of the time, no one is actually thinking about you or talking about you at all. At least, they are not thinking about you and talking about you as much as you are thinking about yourself.

It reminds me of the Carly Simon song… and it stings! By imagining that people don’t have anything better to do than talk about us, we invite a whole mess of unnecessary drama and self-destructive anxiety into our life. Not only does this anxiety borrow trouble and do actual harm (Mt. 6:34), it shows that we lack faith and are stuck in a me-centered universe.

How does Jesus teach us to deal with anxiety about the unknown? “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” (Mt. 6:33) In other words, stop thinking about yourself “first” and start seeking God “first.” God can lift us out of our harmful vanity when we learn to live this prayer:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.” (Mt. 6:9-10)

Note the focus of the beginning of Christ’s model prayer. It’s all about God’s name, God’s kingdom and God’s will. Jesus not only taught us to live God-centered lives, he exemplified it. Before his betrayal and arrest in Gethsemane, he prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Lk. 22:42) He enveloped his request in the will of his Father. Jesus honored his Father’s name, established his kingdom and did his will. That God-centered humility led him through the cross of shame to the throne of victory (Phil. 2:5-11).

When we humbly learn that God is the one fixed point around which all reality turns, including our very lives, then we too will be exalted at the proper time (1 Pet. 5:6-7).

“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.”

Proverbs 6:6-8

Scripture often appeals to nature to teach valuable lessons. Jesus tells us to “look at the birds” and “consider the lilies” to learn how to live anxiety-free lives by trusting in God’s provision (Mt. 6:25-34). Proverbs tells us to “go to the ant” to learn the value of diligence and personal responsibility (Prov. 6:6-8). Other insects are used as metaphors: locusts were symbols of devouring destruction (Ex. 10:4; Joel 1:4; Rev. 9:3); the Canaanites would be driven out of their land as if chased by a swarm of angry hornets (Ex. 23:29; Deut. 7:20); grasshoppers stood for human frailty (Num. 13:33; Isa. 40:22); moths were symbolic of impermanence and decay (Job 4:19; Mt. 6:19). Perhaps we could draw two more lessons from a bug’s life and apply them to the church.

There are moths and there are roaches. Moths are attracted to light due to a phenomenon knows as “positive phototaxis”—a behavioral response where an organism moves toward the light. It’s easy to understand why plants do this (to begin photosynthesis) but scientists do not fully understand why moths do it. Whatever the reason, moths always fly toward light while roaches always flee from it (“negative phototaxis”). Roaches hide from the light because they are nocturnal creatures and darkness provides cover from predators. They thrive in the dark where they can reproduce in the safety of cooler, humid conditions.

Spiritually speaking, God’s word shines like a light which guides and protects (Psa. 119:105, 130) but also exposes. Paul exhorts us to “walk as children of light” and to “take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them… when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible” (Eph. 5:11-13). How do we respond when the light of God’s word shines on us, perhaps even exposing our hidden sin? Do we draw closer to God by walking in the light or do we flee from it and choose the cover of darkness? (1 Jn. 1:5-10) Are you a moth or a roach?

There are bees and there are ticks. Bees are attracted to flowers as a main food source. While on the flower collecting nectar, grains of pollen stick to the bees. The bees then fly to other flowers depositing the pollen and fertilizing them in an amazing process called pollination. Both bees and flowers benefit. Ticks, on the other hand, are parasites. They attach themselves to a host and feed on their blood to survive. Unlike bees which cause life to flourish, ticks spread diseases. Unlike bees which benefit the flowers they are receiving from, ticks help themselves and harm their host.

In the church, there is a necessary give-and-take as we serve one another in love (Gal. 5:13; 1 Pet. 4:10). Always conscious of one another’s well-being, we want to follow the way of the bee. That is, our relationships ought to be mutually encouraging (Rom. 1:12; 14:19). Even when being served by another, we can have a refreshing influence on them (Philem. 1:20) by being sincerely grateful for their help and seeking ways to serve others because we know “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Through this kind of spiritual pollination, when each member serves in the way it can, the Lord causes the church to grow (Eph. 4:15-16). The church cannot grow when its members only take and never give. Instead of spiritually revitalizing others, some have a draining effect. In only feeding off the service of others and never giving of themselves, they spread the disease of discouragement in the church. Beware the leaven of the ticks! Ask yourself these questions:

1. When meeting with other Christians, do you ever ask about their life, what’s important to them, how they are doing? Or do you monopolize the conversation and focus only on your life and your problems?
2. Do you seek opportunities to help other Christians by praying or studying with them, helping them finish a project, babysitting, inviting them for dinner, etc.? Or are you constantly soliciting their service?
3. When coming to worship God, do you greet others warmly, welcome visitors, offer assistance and words of encouragement? Or do you complain about other’s behavior, grumble that the singing was off key or the sermon was too long and you didn’t get much out of it?

Whereas roaches are truth-averse because they find the darkness comfortable, ticks are allergic to generosity because they haven’t learned to put others before themselves (Phil. 2:3-5). Let’s be like moths, not hiding in the darkness of sin but living in the light of God’s word. Let’s be like bees, not merely receiving but also giving of ourselves.

“Buy the truth, and do not sell it.”

Proverbs 23:23a

The 90s science fiction TV series “The X-Files” follows FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) as they investigate unsolved paranormal cases known as X-Files. Mulder believes in the existence of extraterrestrial life and paranormal activity, driven by the mysterious disappearance of his kid sister, which he believes was due to an alien abduction. Scully is a medical doctor and a skeptic who is assigned to work with Mulder and debunk his theories. As the series progresses, however, Scully gradually accepts the reality of the supernatural.

Mulder and Scully follow the trail of evidence, often leading them to uncover embarrassing secrets of high profile people, government conspiracies and shadowy organizations that suppress the truth. Throughout the series, the agents’ findings are constantly frustrated by covert government forces. The opening sequence states that “the truth is out there,” with the implicit challenge to the viewing audience to seek it for themselves.

In the series finale, Agent Reyes says, “What's the point of all of this? To destroy a man who seeks the truth, or to destroy the truth so no man can seek it?” Whenever people oppose or suppress the truth they try to do one of these two things: 1. Destroy the one who seeks the truth, or 2. Destroy the truth so no one can seek it.

There may be a lesson in this fictional TV series for us. Jesus prayed to his Father concerning us, “sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (Jn. 17:17). Knowing and living by God’s truth is one of the things that makes Christians distinct from the world. Agent Reyes’ words on truth-seeking are worth thinking about.

Of course, truth cannot be destroyed. It can be hidden temporarily, twisted beyond recognition, buried in obscurity or flatly denied, but it can never be destroyed. Paul speaks about those who “by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Rom. 1:18). Whenever the truth is suppressed, the naive are duped into believing lies. People suppress the truth when it condemns them in some way. If the truth were to be discovered, they would lose face, power, control or credibility. This is because truth shines like light in the darkness, exposing evil and robbing it of any cover. Truth threatens error. God’s truth, then, cures both intellectual ignorance and moral impurity (Prov. 6:23; Psa. 119:105, 130; Eph. 4:17-19; 2 Pet. 1:19).

If the truth cannot be sufficiently covered up then those who seek it are targeted. Truth-seekers (and truth-speakers and truth-followers) are often threatened, insulted and injured by those who want to keep a lid on the truth. But in the end, the truth will be vindicated. Think of Jesus, whom people tried to destroy by nailing to a cross, yet was vindicated in his resurrection (Rom. 1:4; 1 Tim. 3:16).

Despite the danger it often puts us in, we must remain committed to seeking the truth because, ultimately, “the truth will set you free” (Jn. 8:32). Jesus is God’s Word incarnate, the truth in human form. He is full of both grace (to forgive) and truth (to guide). “The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (Jn. 1:17, 14; 14:6). So stick with the truth by following Jesus. No matter what people say about the truth and no matter what they do to those who seek it, let the truth be your focus. Truth will be vindicated with all those who embrace it.

It’s hard to stick with the truth but, in the end: it is better to stand alone with the truth than be wrong with the masses, it is better to be divided by truth than united by error, it is better to be hated for telling the truth than be loved for telling a lie and it is better to ultimately succeed with the truth than to temporarily succeed with deception. “Buy the truth, and do not sell it.” (Prov. 23:23a)