Thoughts for the Day

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body ...with it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Having looked at the way our faith should lead to good actions (called 'works') the writer of the Epistle of James moves on to look at the dangers of speech. In the 21st century and particularly in the last few years, all of us have become aware that freedom of speech has become perhaps too free, largely because many people think they can say anything. Whether this is true or false, and whether it hurts someone else, it's just seen as collateral damage to their personal belief that they have the right to say what they like. Common decency and politeness are ignored; conspiracy theories abound; and racist, sexist, and ageist language go unremarked. James looked at 'speech', but for us that really includes social media, for more often we hide our speech behind this, believing we'll never be found out.

James argues that the untamed tongue is destructive. It needs to be under control by God's Spirit or it can reap havoc. All of us use our tongue to bless God in our worship; to pray for each other; and to offer sympathy and love to others. But equally we can use our tongue to blame God; to lie our way out of problems; or to curse our neighbour. Those thoughts in our head that can become speech can also come out in emails and texts, and just like words once said or typed, cannot easily be undone.

The question for us is this: is our mind (and therefore our speech and our writing) under the influence of God's Spirit or not? If the answer if 'yes' we have moved from hearers of the word, to doers of the word! Most of us may admit to being a 'work in progress' and therefore we need to ask for God's help.

Lord Jesus Christ,
we admit to our faults:
the way we think is often critical of You
and of other people,
and our speech can be negative rather than positive,
leading to unhelpful outcomes.
Help us to use our speech not just to praise You,
but to encourage and support those around us,
that we may spread Your love to others.
Amen.