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BIBLE STUDY
LESSON
For the week beginning Sunday July 27, 2014
____________________________________________________________
CONTROL
YOUR SPEECH
(Our
words should honor GOD and others)
(James
3)
When JESUS becomes the LORD of our
hearts, HE also automatically becomes the LORD of our thoughts, and our tongues.
Not many people should become teachers in the Christian Church, because those
who teach will be judged by GOD with greater strictness (James 3:1).
After explaining the
Christian characteristics of “patience” in chapter 1, and of “truth”, in
chapter 2, James, the brother of JESUS, now moves on to the subject of
“Christian maturity” here in chapter 3. Here he endeavors to explain the
all-important characteristic of a Christian being able to “control his or her
thoughts and tongues”.
Here James begins by
discouraging the efforts, or ideas of too many people seeking to be teachers in
the Church. He reminds us that teachers are evaluated by GOD in a much stricter
manner than everyone else. To teach GOD’s Word is the most serious of
undertakings, and must by no means be taken lightly. And while it is a great
privilege to teach, such a calling comes with an even greater responsibility
and dedication. And perhaps the greatest responsibility of all is controlling
the tongue with which we teach. In fact, James says that, if we are successful
in doing so, we should also be able to control ourselves in every other area of
our lives (v.2).
The mature Christian
must “be patient in troubled times”, “practice the truth”, and, “exercise power
over his or her own tongue” constantly. Our words must always reflect GOD’s
wisdom, and not, the wisdom of the world. Thereby, James is saying that, “controlled
talk”, and “cultivated thought” are both necessary at all times.
As Christians, we must
not be prone to gossip, sarcasm, or trying to hurt or destroy one another with
the words that we speak. The tongue is a small, but powerful instrument, and with
it, we have the power to direct (Vs.1-4), destroy (Vs.5-8), or delight one
another (Vs.9-12). We can use the tongue, to both, praise GOD, and, to curse,
or cuss those who are made in the image of GOD.
In verses 3-5a, James
uses the examples of “a horses bit”, which is used to control the horse’s
direction, and “a rudder”, which is used to pilot, or steer a ship in any
direction, even in a storm. As small as these two items are, they are very
effective in controlling the powerful horse, and the massive ship in the storm.
The human tongue can be likened to those in its size-to-power ratio. It can be
a great director of GOD’s wisdom as it is taught to others, or, it can be a
great destroyer, and do tremendous damage to mankind if its teachings are
false.
In verses 5b-6, James
likens the tongue to a tiny spark that can set off a great forest fire. He
tells us that the tongue can be a flaming fire full of wickedness that can ruin
your whole life. It can turn the course of a person’s life into a blazing flame
of destruction that seems to have been set by hell itself.
Even those people, who
possess a faith that produces many works, will still have to meet many challenges
along their Christian walk, and among the first of those challenges is to learn
to deal with the very tongue that has always been with them. The tongue can be
uncontrollable, and it exerts a tremendous amount of influence into the lives
of all people.
The term “Sticks and
stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is a statement that is
a classic example of worldly wisdom, and is in fact, a lie. Words can sometimes
cut to the bone, even more deeply than sticks and stones, and can indeed, be
very painful, and can hurt for a lifetime.
The words of our tongue
changes only when our thought process changes. As Christians our thought
process must be more reflective of GOD, and more fixed on the will of GOD, and
thereby, our goal is to be able to share the mind of CHRIST. Until our hearts,
or, thought processes change, we won’t ever be able to tame our tongues, or
replace worldly wisdom with the wisdom and knowledge of GOD.
Another problem that we
as humans face in life, rather Christian or non-Christian, is that of our own
“sin nature”, which causes us to harbor bitterness and ambition in our hearts.
As a result of that, we become moved by a world wisdom that aids us in
achieving worldly selfish ends that leave others in ruin in our wake. Wisdom
from GOD, on the other hand, directs us into a pure, peace-loving, and
submissive way of life under GOD, that, we will not, and cannot, find through
our dealings in world wisdom.
We need to become
accustomed to living by the GODly wisdom that will ultimately bring us a
harvest of righteousness through CHRIST JESUS. We must learn to speak with
thoughtful speech, and always let our words reflect the wisdom that comes from
GOD HIMSELF. However, this does not mean that we won’t ever offend others while
we are defending the Word of GOD (the Gospel), with our speech, in the world.
And hopefully, we ourselves, as Christians won’t be offended when we are
rebuked for going against the Word of the GOD we say we serve and represent, in
this world.
A Sunday school lesson
by,
Larry D. Alexander
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