James 3 - Anyone for Teaching?Намуна

Who can be ‘perfect’?

The expression “never at fault” literally means is not stumbling. And the word "perfect" does not mean scoring 10/10, or being sinless. It means whole or mature, which is how the same word was translated back in James 1:4. James is simply saying that although we all stumble in a variety of ways, those who gain control over what they say are mature Christians—well on their way toward mastering their entire life (“able to keep his whole body in check”). 

How we speak to others, then, is a gauge of the whole Christian life. It may seem like a secondary issue but, in the opinion of James, speech is one of the most important dimensions of life. Jesus said much the same thing, “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks,” (Matt 12:34).

The power and danger of the tongue

James drives his point home by comparing the tongue to the bit in the mouth of a horse (verse 3), and a rudder on a ship (verse 4). The point is not that the tongue controls our life; he simply means that a small instrument, like the tongue, can produce huge outcomes.

James then compares the tongue to a fire that sets alight an inferno (verses 5-6). An apparently small comment—a lie, an insult, a piece of gossip—can damage relationships, destroy trust and can produce a whole series of unexpected and hurtful outcomes. It can corrupt the whole person and set his or her entire existence “on fire.” Jesus said a similar thing in Matthew 15:17-20.

As if this description weren’t enough, the tongue is compared to a deadly snake in verses 7-8. James lived in a culture that had tamed lions, elephants and even deadly vipers. He says the tongue, though, remains undomesticated—a completely wild and venomous creature. 

James does not think that taming the tongue is impossible or that our words only ever speak with venom. The whole point of this section is to help us stop stumbling in what we say (3:2).

The tongue as a barometer

James describes our tongue as a kind of barometer of the whole of the ethical life; the person who controls the tongue is able to keep the whole person in check. What we say and how we say it are fundamental expressions of the royal law of love. 

This has large implications for all of us: for the elderly church-goer who is constantly cranky with the teenagers of today, for the zealous young believer who praises God in church but knocks his friends and snipes at his mother, for the business professional who addresses employees and shop assistants as her inferiors, for the wife who cuts her husband down (without appearing to do so), for the preacher who constantly admonishes his people and rarely encourages or praises them. The examples are endless, the point is the same; the tongue reveals the person.