Tongue Tied

[This message was delivered at John Calvin Presbyterian Church, Henrietta, NY, on September 15, 2024, based on James 3:1-12.]

The irony is not lost on me today. I have made my living as a pastor and preacher by using my tongue to speak to people. In my retirement from being a pastor, I have taught over a hundred students preaching at the seminary level. It is, then, a bit bracing to read these words from James 3: “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will face stricter judgment.” I will face stricter judgment. “The Message,” my favorite paraphrase of the Bible, says it this way, “Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths.” 

In 51 days we will have a national election, with all 435 House of Representatives, 34 Senate seats, and the president and vice-president on the ballot. Of course, the presidency is the big one: we will have a new president on January 20. We will be bombarded with words these seven weeks, many of them rather negative. Two weeks ago, the lectionary had us reading a section or James 1. I was preaching at another presbyterian church and told them what I am telling you now. In my preparations, James 1:19 jumped out at me: “let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.” I decided that I would keep that wisdom with me every day of this election season. I am listening to candidates for office. I am listening to the candidates for our district for the house; I am listening to the candidates for the senate; and I am listening to the candidates for president and vice president. I am listening for respectful dialog, for vision for our future. Like TV psychologist Frasier Crane, I am listening.

“Let everyone be quick to listen…” and this morning I am speaking. You invited me to come and be your preacher today, something I have done here many times and always enjoyed being with you. You are excellent listeners and you always encourage me. I accept this privilege of speaking to you with great care. I want to be faithful to God and to God’s written word, the Bible, and to our Lord Jesus. James 3 warns me to bridle my tongue and use it only for good.

The tongue is a muscular organ that has a number of functions. It helps us to eat food. It helps keep our teeth and mouths clean. It gives us taste. My taste buds stopped developing somewhere in my late childhood. How do I know that? My tastes still lean toward everything sweet. The only way I could drink coffee would be to add so much milk and sugar that it would be milkshake. So instead, I’ll just have a real milkshake in any flavor except coffee. I’m just not very interested in so-called adult drinks.

And the tongue enables us to talk, which is the concern of James. My tongue is enabling me to talk with you right now. That is the way James is using the word tongue in this passage. The actual word is used four times, but the pronoun “it” is used for the tongue another five times. There is no other passage of this length in the Bible that refers as much to the tongue as the instrument of speech. The essence of what James is teaching us is that if our tongues are not bridled and controlled, they do great harm.

My mother taught me two things about the tongue. The first was never to stick my tongue out at another person. That is offensive and mean. The second was in the form of a little poem: “sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” The first half of that is correct. Sticks and stones may break our bones. I broke some ribs when I tripped on the root of a tree on a hiking trail. But the second half is wrong. Being called names can build us up and encourage us, if the names are true and lovingly spoken. But being called names in a negative way can hurt us deeply, more than sticks and stones. Names that belittle us, mock us, make fun of us, names that are untruthful and spoken in derision can harm us. Beware of negative name calling, whether by parents, preachers, or politicians. Rather, let’s engage in positive name calling. With our friends and co-workers. If we are married, with our spouses. If we are parents, with our children. If we are grandparents, with our grandchildren. With our neighbors. With strangers and refugees and immigrants. Let’s use our tongues to bless and encourage others. All others.

James warns us to bridle our tongues and use them to build up and not tear down. To encourage and not discourage, to tell truth and not lies, to honor God with our words and our actions. Peter is one of my favorite followers of Jesus. I relate to him because he was always ready to do whatever was needed and often bungled it. When Jesus was facing betrayal and death, Peter had three chances to speak his love for Jesus publicly and he failed to do so three times. But he got it right his day. “Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’” (Mark 8:29)Yea, Peter. And Peter got it right after Jesus was raised from the dead, when he renewed his love for Jesus publicly three times. Yea, Peter. Words carry power.

In Romans 10, Paul writes, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.For one believes with the heart, leading to righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, leading to salvation.” Words rightly spoken have that power. Confessing means speaking in agreement. The Gospel calls us to get our hearts and our words in agreement.

Back to James 3 and me. I have this glorious privilege on two to three Sundays most months to stand before a congregation and proclaim the Good News of Jesus. I hear the warning of James to be a faithful teacher and preacher and use my tongue to honor and glorify God and encourage you to do the same. Now I am going to do something I don’t usually do. In a moment, I will stop speaking and quiet my tongue and give us two full minutes of silence for all of us to think about how we use our tongues…. Words rightly spoken have great power to do great good.