Power and Peril of Speech Within Communities - The real peril of the tongue is not found in the passing angry word or the incidental oath or the petty bit of slander. It is found in the creation of distorted worlds of meaning within which the word of truth is suppressed . . .

. . . If, as James has led us to reflect, human language is such a potent instrument for the continuation of God’s creative work, as well as for the misshaping of God’s purpose for humanity, several corollaries suggest themselves. The first is that we have an obligation to pay attention to the language we use. The language of faith is not something that can be taken for granted, but must be nurtured. The second is that, even as we preserve the language of faith against those tendencies of the world that seek to shape reality apart from God, so must we work to keep our language open to the mystery of God’s self-disclosure, which never ceases and which encounters us above all in human experience. [1]

An Ancient Voice - Teaching without setting an example is not only worthless teaching but also brings great punishment and judgment on the one who leads their life with such heedlessness [2]

James 3, probes our motivations for teaching ministries. What are our motives for teaching? Do we teach simply because education is our chosen field of training? Does teaching give us a visibility that we enjoy in the church?

What we say and what we don’t say are both important. Proper speech is not only saying the right words at the right time; it is also controlling our desire to say what we shouldn’t. Before speaking ask, "Is this what I really want to say? Is it true? Is it necessary? Does it heal? Does it harm someone?

In The Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan describes the character Talkative as "a saint abroad and a devil at home." Are you aware of any incongruities between your community life words and your family life words that may need adjustment?

For a homily based on James 3, please see the homily posting for this week on DPS.

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[1] The New Interpreter’s Bible XII (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998), page 206-207.
[2] John Chrysostom 4th century, cited in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture XI (InterVarsity, 2000), p. 36.