The Power of Our Words
The Power of Our Words
James 3:1-12
The power of our words is immense. God calls us to use our words not to curse or hurt but to bless and heal.
Caveat – I have no qualifications for preaching this sermon. I too often use my words wrongly and with malice to qualify but what I say is still right in spite of my failures in this regard. I doubt anyone in the sanctuary today really qualifies. But, I am the chief sinner in this one.
Introduction…
It was so long ago…The last time I preached on this scripture was over 40 years ago. I was the young, inexperienced pastor of a small rural church on the Eastern edge of the Bluegrass area of Kentucky. I was new to the ministry. I remember being shocked at some of the things people said, both about each other and about me. I was surprised that words I was hearing in the church were sometimes even more vicious and ugly than what I had experienced in my pre-church life.
I was shocked about how the nice veneer of polite talk and nice code talk was sugarcoated over mean and ugly things, usually said about someone behind their backs was so present in the church, of all places. Church talk was more polite but even more brutal than “field talk”.
I wanted to go back and look up that sermon (yes, I’m a habitual “saver”) and intended to all week but just didn’t get around to it. Probably just as well. I wonder what I said though.
Now, 41 years later I’m older, more experienced a veteran of many a church war, many a personal attack, and bear the spiritual and emotional scars to prove it I wonder what to say?
My expectations are more realistic after 41 years in the ministry. My experiences are deep and wide. I’m not only a survivor in the ministry but by and large a happy warrior in the army of the Lord.
But I can’t forget all the history of what I have “heard” from the mouths of Christ’s followers over the years. I can’t ignore some of the mean and awful stuff with which we all pillory those with whom we disagree or don’t like or have different perceptions. I can’t pretend that I’m not as guilty as most of the people I’ve known both inside and outside the church over the years.
I can’t just say the superficial, “like us all be nice and speak with smooth, maple syruped tongues” to one another. I can’t be pretentious and lift my head high and access the “preacherly” tone of voice and say dumb things like “aw, let’s all just say nice things, cause that’s what nice people do and us Christians we sure are nice people”.
I can’t just say the expected, no doubt, in part because I know how important it is to take scripture seriously and how it’s always about “us” and not “them”. I know how the scripture is meant to be a “mirror” to see ourselves and change not a reflecting glass to shine on other people and blame.
I can’t just ventilate and talk about my experiences of how sometimes, too often in fact I hear the meanness and uncontrolled speech of good Christians and church members without being first in line to raise my head and look the judge straight in the eye and simply say “Guilty”, sir, “profoundly guilty”.
Nope, this isn’t an easy message.
No, this is a lot more challenging than that.
This is a lot more important than that.
This is a lot more relevant than that.
How do we as Christians come to understand the importance of controlling our tongue?
How do we hold ourselves accountable to what we say about each other and how we say it?
How do we as Christians distinguish between what is just bad form and what is truly vicious, no matter well dress it up?
How do we as Christians repent and try to change ourselves to do better at controlling what we say, how we say it, when we say it and why we say it?
How do we as Christians stand up and speak for that which we perceive to be right, without being self righteous or nasty about it?
How do we let what others say about us, usually behind our backs not hurt us or destroy the spirit within us? How do we deflect the sometimes mean, uninformed and just wrong things we hear?
These are just some of the questions that we have to wrestle with in hearing and pondering the word of the Lord for this week.
I. Let’s start with the specific situation in the biblical context.
James was a pastor, not a missionary. He came to be a disciple of Jesus on Easter. He pastored a church in Jerusalem. Traditionally, he is understood to be the brother of Jesus. His congregation probably fought hard to preserve the “Jewish-ness” of the new faith of Christian, staying hard and fast to the Jewish traditions and practices.
He called his intended readers as “the twelve tribes in the diaspora”, which was a metaphor for faithful disciples living in unfaithful times, as exiles, dislocated and marginalized within an alien world, because of their faith.
The wisdom of “slow speaking”, is especially suited for people living in times where daily trials life is hard and difficult. Under these circumstances the temptation of uncontrolled and critical speech is made more intense by the difficulty of controlling what we say and how we say it.
Leaders in the early church were falling to the temptation to slander one another because of their status in within the new community of faith.
James warned that many of you should become a teacher because even believers lacked the wisdom necessary to control the inward desires that led them to doubt and sin. He was saying that all of us make many mistakes. He also warned that God would judge believers on the basis of what they say AND do.
James wasn’t urging the leaders within the church to gain better diction; he was calling them to the careful choice of words they used. He said just as a person could use the bit to control the movement of a horse and a sailor could use a rudder to control a ship the leaders of the early church were to use their words carefully and rightfully.
Throughout the Bible we find the importance of using our words carefully and rightfully. (Some CROSS REFERENCES (KJV))
vs 1 2Pe 2:1 “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”
vs 2 Matt 12:36 “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”
Pr 24:16 “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”
vs 3 Ps 39:1 “I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.”
vs 5 Ps 12:2 “They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.”
vs 6 Pr 26:21 “As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.
vs 12 Luke 6:43 “For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.”
You see, throughout the Bible those who follow the Lord and would be one of His are told how important our words are and how no matter how hard it is we have to learn to control our mouths and learn to speak as God’s children.
II. When it comes to our words we have to recognize how dangerous and how hurtful our words can be, how difficult it is to control our words and how we are all guilty.
By exaggerated example James teaches us that careless words can do great damage.
When I was in the National Guard I used to get a tickle out of the stylized and formal message “COL (Insert name) would like to rescind the message the entitled “then whatever the title of the original email was”. That cryptic message was Outlooks way of saying “shouldn’t have sent this message”. Somehow it struck me as humorous and I almost always had already read the “rescinded” message or would go ahead and read it anyway out of curiosity. Then I would try to guess why it was being rescinded.
Even in the world of computers and stylized forms, it isn’t easy to pull back something once it is expressed.
Last week a friend of mine and I got an email from someone who wanted us to do something that would require a great deal of time and was a lot to ask. It irked me and I forwarded it to someone else with a smart aleck comment “why don’t just quit our day jobs and be at the beckon call of people full time?” People want a lot these days. Well, instead of “forwarding” my message to my friend I unintentionally sent it back to the original sender. I tried to cover myself and apologized but it’s hard to call back off words once spoken or worse yet written isn’t it? I know I’m not the only one who has done this – it is an oft repeated warning of the dangers of email.
Our words can hurt.
Our words can and do injure and cause great pain.
Our words can leave a stain that is hard to get out.
Our words can set a forest on fire with one tiny spark.
We’re all guilty.
We’re all sinners.
We’ve all said things that were ill chosen, harsh, hurtful, and wrong.
James reminds us that our words can even be like “Gahanna” – which was hell.
When it comes to mis-using our words, we are all guilty. We all sin – and more often than we wish. We all offend.
No matter how good we are or how much we know better we all stumble and fall when it comes to our words. This includes preachers, elders, deacons, board members, church members, Christians, non-Christians.
We all come up short.
We boast of great things when we should be more humble. The Bible warns repeatedly and at great length to be wary of boasting.
“But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil” (James 4:16).
We speak as if we and only we had the insight on truth.
We speak without listening. We may hear but we don’t listen.
Our words have the power to start huge fires, destroying relationships, consuming all that lies in their path. We speak words better not spoken, we speak words in anger, or hurt which cause more anger and hurt, we spread rumors, we bear tales, and we make sharp or cutting remarks – too often intentionally.
Don’t take my word for it … Think about the …
marriages destroyed,
* children maimed,
* friendships damaged,
* reputations ruined,
* wars fought,
* fights started,
* injuries caused,
* hurts inflicted.
The list could go on and on but I’m sure you recognize and in fact could add to it.
III. God calls us to use our words to bless. Seven steps to doing better with our words…
The beautiful thing about words is that they can bless and heal and grow just as well as they can curse and hurt and kill.
By virtue of our calling as followers of Jesus we are all called to commit ourselves to using our words as a blessing.
Why don’t we do our best to be “guilty” of being a blessing with our words as we are of the opposite.
I’ve spent more time “un-doing” quickly spoken and ill advised words when I could have spoken the truth and been right if I had just waited a bit before I fired off my reply.
At the same time, I’ve withheld my words and injured my own spirit by failing to speak what was on my heart. I’ve damaged my own soul by not speaking my words as well.
So, it’s no easy task controlling our words. It’s no “slam dunk” knowing when to speak and what to say and how to say it.
Seven steps to doing better with our words…
1. First, the “pure” speech of the church that James speaks of is a good start. Just as a responsible teacher exercises the wisdom of being “slow to speak” so should we. A great place to start with controlling our words is to take a deep breath and be slow to speak.
2. Secondly, we should seek the guidance of seeking “wisdom from above” with our words. While our words will fail, if they are guided and shaped from the Lord we speak on firm ground.
3. Third, we should always speak our words with humility. We don’t know everything there is to know. We aren’t the sole arbiter of truth. We aren’t the only righteousness. Always speak your insights with awareness that someone else may have a different and equally valid sense of “right” and “truth” and “righteous”. Try to understand.
4. Use your words to speak for the needs of others, especially for those who are poor, or less fortunate and unable to speak. Don’t be so self absorbed and self focused that all you speak about is yourself. As Christians we are obligated to speak for those who have no voice.
5. Do not use your words to hurt, no matter how righteous you may feel but to heal, to help, to bring insight, to guide, not control. Restrain your verbal hostilities. James urges us not to use our words to grumble against one another. In this same light, if you are going to speak negative or harsh words about someone else – be sure you have said them to the person they are about.
6. Speak your words as truthfully as you can. Don’t lie. We’ve all had the terrible experience of trying to undo, outwit, escape, and deny words that were lies. It’s too hard. Just speak truthfully as well as you can. If we fail to speak words that are right and true when they for we are as guilty of abusing our words as if we spoke harsh or mean spirited ones.
7. When it comes to words - give grace. Since we are all guilty of words quickly spoken, harshly spoken, wrongly spoken, then we should be quick to give grace to others and just as importantly to ourselves. We’re all going to be sorry for some of our words and we’re all going to be hurt for words others speak to us – give grace when it happens.
Closing
Did you know that one of the strongest warnings Jesus ever issued had to do with using our words wisely?
“I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter…” (Matthew 12:36) The fact is the power of our words is beyond my words to express them. We can draw people into the love of God with our words or we can push them out forever. We set the course of a young person’s whole life with well chosen words of encouragement or correction or challenge or reminder – each carefully chosen at the right time and place, or we can turn them off forever. Words are powerful. How we use them is up to us.
From the words of a great hymn…
“Lord speak to me that I may speak, in living echoes of Thy tones,
As Thou has sought, so let me seek, Thy erring children lost and lone.
O teach
me Lord, that I may teach, the precious things
Thou dost impart,
And wing my words that they may reach, the hidden depths
of many a heart.” [Frances R. Havergall, 1872]
In his book entitled Killing Giants, Pulling Thorns, Chuck Swindoll refers to a statement, etched faintly on a gray slate tombstone on a windswept hill in an English country churchyard:
Beneath this stone,
a lump of clay,
Lies Arabella Young,
Who, on the twenty-fourth of May,
Began to hold her tongue.
If there is any failure universal among mankind, it is the misuse of words.
With our words we not only name things, and each other and that which we believe in but we name ourselves.
May God give us the wisdom to use our words as a blessing, forgive us when we use them as a curse and bring us a community use our words to our words to help each other and all those in need.