James 3:9-10—Blessing or cursing
With it [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. James 3:9-10
James described a universal tendency—if we’re honest with ourselves—which we deal with more than we care to admit. He wrote of the tongue, “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men.” Notice he used the pronoun “we” when writing about this issue; evidently, even he had to guard against this inclination.
Think about it. At church the music is swelling into worship, and you are caught up in the majesty of it all. And then, as you open your eyes for a moment, you see the woman whose issues you and your friend analyzed with disdain over coffee. Or you view the pastor and remember how you picked apart the way he preached last week. With your tongue you approach God and bless Him; with the same tongue, you dishonor your sister or your brother. Again, since James used the word “we”, it’s a safe bet to say that the temptation to speak against fellow Christians has been a common one for all believers throughout the history of the Church.
You may protest, “No—you’ve got it all wrong! This is talking about how all of us were before we were saved! We don’t have problems like that anymore!” Well, I’m pretty sure that when James describes folks who bless the Lord one minute and curse people the next, he wasn’t talking about all those hardened sinners out there who spend a huge chunk of their time praising God. Admit it. If someone is blessing the Lord out loud, it’s more than likely one of us. Unfortunately, we’re also the ones who are guilty of speaking pious words at church only to follow up later with a chaser of put-downs. In fact, the unsaved are sometimes more consistent in the way they use their words than many of us are! Ouch.
The man you may be “discussing” is made in the likeness of God. The woman about whom you are expressing a “concern” is one of God’s prized daughters. From the pastor to the children’s worker to the usher to the awkward individual always trying to get your attention—each one is precious, each one is valuable, and each one is made in the likeness of God. When you touch any of them with contempt, you touch the apple of His eye. And that’s not OK with Him.
…from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.
Can you sense the exasperation in James’ tone as he writes this? He was calling it like he saw it—blessing one minute and cursing the next—flowing out of the mouths of God’s people. From what he wrote, it appears that those believers felt there was nothing wrong with what they were doing—verbally cutting their brothers and sisters to shreds and then praising the Lord without a smidgeon of conviction. Did they feel entitled to curse their fellow believers? James wrote very emphatically—and I believe with tears running down his cheeks: “My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.”
These things ought not to be this way—not in James’ time, not in ours. The thing that can solve the case of the deadly tongue is not merely being born again—although that is the very first real step. Nor is the problem of the tongue solved by either water baptism or the baptism of the Holy Spirit—although both of those experiences are important keys to victorious Christian living and fruitfulness. The solution for the poison of the tongue is not even sitting under anointed teaching in a healthy fellowship of believers—although that is a huge component of Christian growth.
No; each man and each woman must vigilantly guard and correct, watch over and instruct his or her own tongue, by both the Word of God and His Spirit.
A well-trained horse may slip up or stumble from time to time. Your well-behaved pet may disobey you every now and then. They are tamed; James wrote that the tongue is untamable (see James 3:7-8 and http://www.firstofallpray.com/?p=6090). Because of that, you must exert constant oversight to keep your mouth in line with the Word and the Spirit of God. My cats are unattended when I leave the house—they can be trusted not to wreak havoc. My tongue, on the other hand, is not as trustworthy—it will wreak havoc if I don’t maintain diligent watch over it.
Do you use your mouth to praise God and bless others, only to find yourself spouting scathing judgments the next day—or minute? Don’t wait to correct it; go now to the Source of Living Waters, where the River runs fresh and clean, and receive forgiveness, cleansing, and correction for your untamed tongue. Your dog or cat can probably handle being left at home unattended for a while, but never again leave your mouth unsupervised. No! Guard it, watch it, bridle it, and make it line up with the Word of God.
This is the only way to deal with the tongue.
Dorothy