James 3:1-12
Accountable for Our Influence

Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment. For in many things we all stumble. If anyone doesn't stumble in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also. Indeed, we put bits into the horses' mouths so that they may obey us, and we guide their whole body. Behold, the ships also, though they are so big and are driven by fierce winds, are yet guided by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot desires. So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest! And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna. For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and thing in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind. But nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the image of God. Out of the same mouth comes forth blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send out from the same opening fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, yield olives, or a vine figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh water.

World English Bible

Most of us are familiar with this passage in James about the "terrible tongue", and we have struggled with the sinful paradox that from our mouths come both good and evil. We all have been surprised at how rapidly our hurtful thoughts can be uttered, and how undisciplined we are at stopping those thoughts from becoming words. We can identify with the image James described of our tongues as wild, untamed beasts dwelling inside us, even as we recognize that we, not our tongues, are to blame.

I believe James intended us to read this passage and meditate on how we can control what we say and discipline our mouths to serve God. I also believe James had a bigger purpose in this passage, if we consider the first two verses of the chapter as part of the rest, and if we expand our thoughts just a little broader.

Most of the time when I read this passage, I am reminded of the things I say that I wish I could take back, and the lesson from this passage to think before I speak. Experience has shown that I also make foolish choices when writing--and I feel certain that most of you, like me, have sent an email you wish you could "unsend"! It is not enough for me to think before I verbalize. I also have to think correctly, I have to consider other sides of the issue, and most of all, I have to consider whether I am thinking from my sinful self or thinking in ways God wants me to think. I can be just as wrong with my words after hours of contemplation if all my thoughts are centered around my own opinions and desires. In fact, the longer I think within myself, the more I can rationalize even bizarre thoughts and convince myself that they must be true. Only when my thoughts are continually subjected to God's Will can my words be God's words.

I believe James intended this passage as warning to those who were eager to influence others with their personal interpretations of God's Will. Given how forcefully James criticized sinful behavior elsewhere in this letter, we should note how meekly he worded those first verses. James knew that he, too, was sinful and wrong--"in many things we all stumble"--and James knew that God would hold him accountable if he led others into sin with his teaching. If James was this concerned about teaching others, we should be terrified. We cannot possibly teach the true Gospel from our own thoughts and knowledge. We must always and continually rely on God, depending on the One who calls us to teach to give us the insights and message that we are to share.

But it doesn't stop there. Only some of us are called to teach, but all of us communicate with others. Some of us are called to teach, but all of us are called to share our faith with those around us. Some of us are called to teach, but every one of us influences others by what we say, what we do, and what choices we make. We might think we can avoid James's warning by refusing to lead a Sunday School class, but we are influencing people around us, and God requires our influence to draw others to God. God holds us accountable for how we influence others, whether we intended to influence them or not.

It is not enough that the rudder arrive in port, but the whole ship. The bridle doesn't win the race, but the horse does. It is not enough for our mouths to speak and sing God's praises, but for our whole beings to be an invitation to others to come and see Jesus. It is more than just our words that matter, it is our influence. It takes more than caution about what we speak to be obedient servants of God.