The Iniquity of the Tongue
The call to be a teacher
In chapter three, James turns to a subject that he has already touched on briefly, but now he devotes a long passage to it. In chapter one, he warned a professing Christian with an unruly tongue that his religion is vain. Now he develops a long series of graphic comparisons to illustrate just how dangerous an unruly tongue can be.
He starts by addressing his readers as "my brethren" (v. 1). This expression and the expression "my beloved brethren" recur throughout the epistle. He uses them when he wishes to stress that his counsel comes from love. Here he is entering a subject that will require words of rebuke and censure, so he builds a foundation of love before proceeding. His approach is a good example for us whenever we must confront someone with words of correction. Such correction should always take place in a loving context.
James’s first admonition is not against an evil use of the tongue, but against a legitimate use without good results. He says that not many should seek to be "masters" (v. 1). The Greek word so translated in the King James Bible (KJV) refers to teachers.1 He is advising churches that the role of teaching others should not be shared by all. By implication, he agrees with Paul that teaching is a special gift that God imparts to a few (Rom. 12:6–7; 1 Cor. 12:7–10, 28–30). James continues with the warning that whoever stands up and teaches will face a stricter "judgment," the meaning of the word translated "condemnation."2 In other words, with responsibility goes accountability. The more you undertake in God’s service, the more you will answer for when you stand before the divine Judge.
A teacher’s words will then be thoroughly sifted. Good words will gain a reward. Words that are careless through lack of study, or false through lack of belief, or unkind through lack of love, or self-serving through lack of humility, or merely tedious and empty through lack of understanding will cause a loss of reward. God expects anyone who fills the vital office of teacher to do well. He must know his Bible. He must be well-educated by the Spirit of God. He must be pure in his motives, without a self-seeking agenda. He must be humble and moderate in his conclusions, restrained in his words, faithful in making applications to real life, fearless in taking unpopular but Biblical positions, and full of love for his hearers. Obviously, then, teaching is not for everyone. Indeed, no one perfectly fits the role of a teacher. If someone has been clearly called by God to serve in this role, any good that he or she accomplishes despite personal shortcomings is solely by God's grace.
We must remember, however, that James is thinking mainly about teaching as a regular ministry to adults. The counterbalancing truth is that we all should be teachers in a broader sense (Heb. 5:11–14). We all should instruct those under our authority. A man instructs his family. A woman instructs her children. Older men instruct younger men, and older women instruct younger women (Titus 2:3–5). We all can help in one-on-one discipling of new believers, or in the many ministries to youth that a church conducts. Finally, we all should be taking opportunities to reach the lost with the gospel. When sharing the gospel, we are teaching truth. Yet even teachers in this broader sense will be accountable for their words. Thus, before we open our mouths to speak, we must first cleanse our hearts of wrong motives and prepare our minds with understanding.
The power of the tongue
Next, James anticipates a problem universal among teachers. The problem is this: teachers have a tendency to be self-satisfied. Some enjoy getting up in front and talking even when they are doing a poor job. To counter this common failure to practice self-criticism, James reminds us that we all fall short of what we should be (v. 2). We all give offense in many things. Recognizing that the tongue is especially prone to give offense, a teacher must continually monitor his own performance, being careful to stay close to the mind of the Spirit in everything he says. To say only what is true and profitable is a nearly impossible feat for fallen man, but with the help of the Spirit it is possible. The ability to control speech is a mark of a "perfect" man—that is, of a man who is spiritually mature.
A man with enough spiritual strength and discernment to control the small organ in his mouth called the tongue can easily control the whole body with its multitude of surging impulses. To underscore this principle, James uses a series of striking metaphors (vv. 3, 4). The bit in a horse’s mouth is small enough to hold in your hand. But if you pull on the reins attached to the bit, you can make the horse turn however you like. Likewise, the rudder of a ship is a small thing compared with the whole vessel. (An ancient ship actually had two rudders, one on either side of the stern.3) But the man at the helm can, by operating a fitting of insignificant size, control the whole vessel’s direction, even when the ship is buffeted by raging winds and towering waves.
What exactly does James mean when he refers to use of the tongue? The correct interpretation must explain how controlling the tongue is the secret to controlling the entire man. James is, I believe, building on a basic fact of psychology. At some point in the unfolding of every reaction to life, the mind must speak, and what it says shapes conduct afterward. If we feel abused, we normally respond by expressing anger with our mouths, and as a result our anger builds, perhaps to the point of fueling violent behavior. But, you say, it is entirely possible just to seethe inside, with no venting of anger through audible words. Yes, but then we speak inflammatory words to ourselves. When James refers to the tongue, he is thinking generally of the role that words play in our conduct and character. If we can control our words, whether silent or spoken, we can control the whole body.
When angry feelings surface, we must think and speak words of forgiveness. What helps us forgive? To remember that God has forgiven us, who by nature are sinners as bad in God’s eyes as any other sinners. When fearful feelings paralyze us, we must think and speak words of courage and of trust in God. When lustful feelings invade the mind, we must think and speak words of duty to God and of compassion for anyone our lust could victimize. A good example is provided by Joseph, who resisted temptation by Potiphar’s wife by giving her strong arguments against committing adultery (Gen. 39:8, 9).
Just as we can put down every sin by well-chosen words, so we can use words, whether silent or spoken, to stir up every good deed. Words of compassion for the needy will produce charity. Words of love for our brothers will provoke us to encourage them, comfort them, and show hospitality. Words of indignation for injustice will motivate us to exercise our Constitutional powers as a free people to stop abuses in society, such as abortion. Words of concern for the lost will arouse us to support evangelism.
The evil in boasting
Yet the power of the tongue is too often employed for the wrong purposes. It is indeed a small member, but because it has the ability to speak, it can serve as a powerful tool of sin. What sin in particular does it make easier and more damaging? The tongue is no less than the chief instrument of pride (v. 5). There is no ambition or pretense or conceit that the tongue cannot express through boasting. Much of what people say is to lift up self, and often the means chosen to accomplish this goal is to put others down, perhaps in ways that do them incalculable harm. The Nazis bolstered their claim of racial superiority by denouncing the Jews and others as worthy of destruction. Although the boasting we encounter in our daily lives may not be so vicious, it still has the usual effect of hurting or demeaning other people. Then what do they do? They often fight back. Thus, James compares the tongue to a little fire, or even a spark, cast into a dry stack of lumber or into a dry forest ("matter" can refer to either4). The matter ignites and the fire spreads until it becomes a great conflagration, reducing the whole to ashes and ruin.
The tongue as a fire
Having shown that the tongue is like a fire in this sense, James is ready to bring his indictment of the tongue to a climax with two stinging charges (v. 6a). First, he makes his point explicit. He says that the tongue is indeed a fire. Then he draws another comparison. The tongue is also a world of iniquity. In other words, although the tongue is a small member, there is nothing in the vast realm of evil that it cannot reproduce in some measure.
The effect of evil words is to defile the whole body (v. 6b), just as Jesus also taught (Matt. 15:16–20). The meaning is that a man who sins with his mouth is, in God’s eyes, a sinner through and through, for what a man says shows the character of his heart. No word appears on the tongue that the heart has not conceived. A man’s words are generally a clear window to his inner being, even the very depths of his soul.
Yet the damage a tongue can do is not limited to its own body. Returning to the image of fire, James says that the tongue can inflame the very course of nature (v. 6c). Literally in the Greek, the phrase is, "the wheel of nature."5 By "nature" he means the whole complex of events that make up the history of the world. In his choice of the word "wheel" we see that he is thinking of history as a machine that is moving ever onward. He is conveying the idea that one little tongue can kindle a blaze so destructive that it causes history to take an evil turn. How many horrendous wars have issued from the cruel commands of a single demonic tyrant?
James furnishes yet another reason why he equates the tongue to fire. The reason already evident is that both are destructive. But the reason he gives now is that when the tongue speaks wickedly, it is doing the bidding of hell, here used as a figure of speech to represent Satan and all his hosts (v. 6d). The tongue is fire because, as James says, "It is set on fire of hell"; that is, "by" hell.6 He is trying to instill in his readers a realization that whenever they let their tongues go out of control, they are joining Satan’s rebellion against God and allowing him to accomplish his purposes through their mouths. Indeed, they might even be speaking under the direct influence of Satan or one of his cohorts. Remember what Jesus said to Peter when Peter rebuked Jesus’ announcement that He would be killed in Jerusalem (Matt. 16:23)? If Peter could become a puppet of Satan, we are also at risk of serving as Satan’s mouthpiece if we speak hastily from a proud heart.
"Hell" in the original is Gehenna,7 which refers to the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem, whither all the refuse of the city was carted and burned.8 When people within the city walls looked in the direction of this garbage dump, they saw perpetual flames ascending on the horizon. The fires were never quenched. No doubt for this reason Gehenna was the name Jesus often used for the eternal lake of fire (Matt. 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5).
Self-Test
2. Am I doing the kinds of teaching that God wants all Christians to provide whether or not they have been set apart as gifted teachers?
You are conducting a vital teaching ministry if you are instructing children under your authority, giving counsel to younger people in the church, or witnessing to the lost.
3. Am I teachable?
If you are under someone’s authority, do you heed his or her instruction? If you are younger, do you prize and seek the wisdom of older saints? In our society, respect for the wisdom of older people has all but vanished. But do not play the fool by supposing that there is no advantage in experience (Lev. 19:32).
4. Do I understand that control of my tongue is the secret to moral victory in my life?
Do you check your thoughts if they are going in a bad direction? Do you consciously cultivate a thought life centered on praising God and designing good deeds for others? Do you monitor your words before you speak and squelch those you would be ashamed to hear on the Day of Judgment? Do you make an effort to say things that are constructive and encouraging?
5. Do I ever fall into the trap of abusive speech?
Remember that abusive speech can destroy a home by ripping apart the fabric of family love. It can even destroy a life if it causes the targeted person to plunge into suicidal despair. One great evil in abusive speech is that you cannot take it back. If you tell someone that he is worthless, how can you truly apologize? You can say that you did not mean it, but your attempts at erasing your previous outburst will not be very convincing. What you said first will be remembered as the true expression of your heart and mind.
6. Have I ever, like Peter, served as Satan’s mouthpiece?
Perhaps you have heard someone in a rage or in a fit of abusive speech make statements that would never have occurred to him in his right mind, or even make statements exceeding his own knowledge? Where did that extra dimension of malice or knowledge come from? Doubtless from demonic influence. Paul warns that losing your temper puts you at risk of becoming a tool of Satan (Eph. 4:26–27).
1. If God has gifted me with teaching ability, have I accepted all opportunities to teach that He has made available?
How can you be sure that He wants you to teach? You must first consider whether you have or can acquire the necessary Bible knowledge, spiritual maturity, and ability to speak. You must consider also whether the consensus of your spiritual leaders and of others who have heard you give a lesson is that you are a gifted teacher. Another test is whether God blesses your efforts with spiritual fruit. Last but hardly least, you must have an inner assurance that the Holy Spirit is guiding you into a teaching role. It is perfectly natural to doubt your ability to meet its requirements. If all the other signs of God’s will identify you as a teacher, pay no attention to such doubts. They merely show a desirable humility that will increase your dependence on God’s help. Humility is never a disqualification from a role in serving God.