"How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue--a restless evil full of deadly poison (James 3:5-8)."
Harsh words from James to say the least, but he makes the point so well. Of all the parts of the body, including our sexual organs, the tongue gets us into more trouble than anything else. We live in a world of babbling pundits, shock radio, reality television and blogging. Vitriolic hate speech is everywhere. We are no longer careful about what we say and what effect our words have on others. Words are powerful...God spoke creation into being and gave us His Word. Like nothing else words have the power to hurt and they have the power to heal. But they are neutral. It is not just the words themselves, but the tongue that speaks them. Behind every tongue is an attitude, a heart and an agenda. James knew this and calls us to account for the condition of heart from which our words emerge.
One would like to say that the church is above such rebukes, but it is not to say the least. When I was a pastor I heard a lot of complaints about my ministry. To some I was a poor administrator. To some I was a boring preacher. To some I was not there when needed most. These complaints hurt me and I didn't know how to put them into proper perspective so I returned the favor by complaining about my church. It didn't stop there for me. I complained about everything...the annual conference, the superintedent, the bishop and other pastors with whom I disagreed. I allowed a mindset of complaining to conquer my life.
Now that I am sitting in the pews, I hear some pretty interesting complaints. "This pastor iss not as good as the last...the last pastor was not as kind as this one... wish there weren't so many praise songs in the service...the music is too loud....why do we have to stand during the praise and worship...why are they always asking for money?" It seems like it never ends.
A parishoner approached me and asked me about a particular issue in the church I am attending. I felt like she was trying to complain about the church and its leadership and to get me to complain as well. In the past I would have taken the bait, but this time I didn't. I listened to her and took a risk. I said, "Instead of focusing on what the church isn't why don't we celebrate what it is. I went on to talk about the pastor's positive preaching, the wonderful music and the fact that I feel the presence of God in this place when I worship. The person looked at me and said, "Well...I'm not trying to be critical...I'm just saying how I feel."
Why do we have to say it at all. Why do we have to use words that are destructive of confidence, community and character? James knew that such a fire of words could burn the forest down. I have decided to try something. Every time I talk to someone I am going to start that conversation by using words to build up that person. I'm going to tell them how good a friend they are, that they are a good server or check out person, how much I appreciate what they have done for me in the past and that they look good on that particular day. I'm going to thank the volunteer firemen when I walk by the station, say good morning to the mailman and ask my neighbor how he has beedn feeling. For every negative word I use I am going to challenge myself to use three positive words.
Let us all vow to change the words that come out of our mouths. Let's try to rise above complaining, gossip and negativity and focus on the good in people and in every encounter we have. Words have power and we must make a choice to speak from hearts of compassion and fellowship. That doesn't mean that we should be less than honest about certain people or situations. Sometimes we have to say things that people might not want to hear, but we have to temper those words with encouragement and reconciliation in mind. It's not the tongue, but the heart from which the tongue speaks. Let's not forget Jame's call to tame our tongues.
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