9/13/20 James 3:1-13 “Two Ears, One Mouth!”

11 Sep 9/13/20 James 3:1-13 “Two Ears, One Mouth!”

 9/13/20   James 3:1-13    “Two Ears, One Mouth!”

This is always a fun time of year when I can start to welcome people back from their summer vacations.  Have you ever noticed how even if you take a vacation or the summer off, life doesn’t take time off?  People still die in the summertime.  People get married in the summertime and children grow in the summertime.  So, it is always interesting to hear some of the stories that happened to you over summer.  I get to hear some great fishing stories, some fun-filled vacation stories, and some good life stories.  This is one of the perks of being a pastor.  I would say that unless you had a smile on your face and/or a gleam in your eye, I would believe what you tell me 100%.  I think that most people are generally honest people and there is no reason for me or anyone else not to believe what you say.  But the same cannot be said about some of the people we know outside of church.  We all know of the people who will tell us tall tales of a huge fish they caught which, as they tell it, was actually larger than the one that swallowed Jonah!  When in actuality, it was only about so big.  I once knew a man who would tell story after story and these stories were whopping tales.  But he would swear that they were true.  Finally, after I had caught him in a huge lie for the 5^th or 6^th time, I told him, “Please, do not ever tell me your wild stories again.  I don’t want to hear them.”  He never told me a whopper again and we became good friends.  Today, we are continuing our look at James as he tells us about being accountable for what comes out of our mouths.  Let’s see if any of these things apply to us.

I think that we always have to be careful around fire.  This is because when something burns, it is gone and there is no getting it back.  When I was a young boy, I was fascinated by fire.  I had an older brother who taught me all kinds of things, both good and bad.  I remember one time that he taught me how gasoline would ignite in an instant.  He would take a little and put it on the ground and light it.  Poof!  It would ignite and be done.  I was quite young at this time so I didn’t know much about safety.  Kids, don’t ever do this because it is really stupid.  Anyway, I took the gas can when my brother was busy and I poured some gas out and lit it.  What I didn’t know was that I should only use a little bit of gas and that I should set the gas can away from the spill.  The gas ignited and it was much bigger than I had anticipated and it was right next to the gas can.  I think I hollered out and my brother or dad came out and moved the can.  Of course, I got into a little trouble for that.  I could have burned down our whole shop and all the tools and things a farmer keeps in his shop.  It could have been a disaster.  Don’t ever play with fire.

Now it would be natural to write this story off as something that could happen to a young boy who didn’t really know the consequences of his actions.  But we are all in similar situations in our adult life because of what we say.  We can say things that are nice or that are hurtful.  But once we have said them, they cannot be taken back.  If there is damage, it is like that of a fire.  The damage cannot be undone.

James begins with a warning to his readers and us.  We have been talking about this for the last couple of weeks.  Not everyone is cut out to be a teacher and one of the reasons is that the teacher is held to a higher standard.  If you don’t believe this then read the first verse again.  Obviously, they were having a problem with Christians, who were also Jews, getting so caught up in the knowledge that they were newly possessing that they were passing it on in a false manner.  Or they may have thought that they were equals to the Rabbis.  Whatever it was, it was a problem that had to be addressed.

We have this problem today.  Now you have all gotten to know me a little in the last few years, you should know that I had to go to a lot of school to be here today.  However, I also know that I have much more to learn.  But I have run across a couple of people in the area who have attended a couple of Bible studies or they have studied a certain section of the Bible and suddenly they are experts.  This is ok by itself.  But if these people go out and teach others what they have learned, then they have to be held accountable for what they are saying.  In other words, what they say had better be true.  This happens more than we like to think.

The other thing that happens is that I, as a pastor, am held to a higher standard of conduct then you are.  I have asked you this question in several different settings.  “Do you think that pastors, myself included, should be held more accountable than the rest of you?”  The obvious correct answer to this is “Of course, you do!”  I wasn’t trying to see what I could get away with by asking this.  I was making sure that we are all on the same page.  I know that you don’t want a pastor that closes the bar every Saturday night.  You don’t want a drug addicted pastor.  You don’t want your pastor to be living in a life style that is contrary to the Bible.  You want your pastor to be trying his/her best to live up to God’s standards.  God wants this also.  This is just common sense.  So, if you ever catch me doing something wrong or saying something wrong, then let me know.  I will try to do better in the future.

Now notice in the verse 2 how he starts.  We all stumble.  This includes me and every pastor who has ever lived.  Everybody stumbles.  Now James goes on to tell us what our biggest stumbling block is.  It is our tongue.  James, first of all, compares our tongues to a bit in a horse’s mouth.  This is just a small piece of metal that goes in the mouth of the horse and it steers the whole horse.  This huge animal is control by the little bit.  So, it is with our tongues.

He next compares our tongues to a rudder on a ship.  Have you ever seen a rudder on a ship?  Compared to the size of the boat, it is really quite a small piece of metal at the rear of the ship that guides the whole thing.  Again, we see that the size of the ship like the horse is huge next to the steering mechanism.  This isn’t the only thing going on here.  The rudder has to be reliable in high winds and rough waters.  These things must be able to withstand a lot of pressure and they usually come through.  So will the tongue.

Next James compares it to fire.  The tongue is strong and reliable like a rudder and the little bit in a horse’s mouth.  But it can also be very destructive.  No one really talks about this too much anymore but do you remember reading of the great Chicago fire of 1871?  In this fire, between 17,000 and 18,000 buildings were destroyed.  There were 300 people who died and 125,000 people were left homeless.  This all happened because Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over a small lantern.  Our tongues can be even more destructive than this.  You can make enemies for life if you say the wrong things.  You can destroy a child’s self-esteem with just a few wrong words at the wrong time.  Churches have been destroyed by the gossip of its members.  The words that come from our mouths can destroy things like a fire destroys.  There is no going back in a relationship after certain harsh words have been said.

We are also compared to wild animals.  I think that there isn’t an animal alive that we cannot tame.  You can go to a circus and see many fierce beasts that have been tamed.  I’m not saying that we have to trust these animals but we can tame them to some extent.  I remember when we bought a bull on the farm once when I was a kid that was the biggest Hereford bull that I had ever seen.  We had 6 or 7 other bulls and this one was the king of them all and he even didn’t have to fight the others as so often happens.  The previous owners said that this bull was a pet.  Well, in my way of thinking, he may have been a pet and he was really nice and gentle, but I still didn’t trust him.  So, we can sort of tame animals.  And this is the best we can do with our tongues.  No matter what we do, we will still be like that bull that we had when I was a kid.  We can sort of get control on our tongues but we surely should never trust it on its own.  This is why we need Jesus.

Then James talks a little about our walk as our mouths are compared to a spring of water.  He asks, “Can fresh water and salt water come from the same spring?”  In other words, if you buy a fancy bottle of water in the store, can it be fresh and salty at the same time?  Of course, it can’t.  It has to be one or the other.  It is the same way with our mouths.  Can true praise to Jesus Christ come out of our mouths on Sunday morning when we have spent all day Saturday and will continue on Monday to live our lives in opposition to the Lord?  Of course, it can’t.  You have to be either with God or you are against Him.  There is no in between.  You cannot live your whole week in purposeful sin and act like nothing has happened when you come and worship on Sunday morning.  It is the life you lead outside of these walls that is important.  All we try to do here on Sundays is recharge your battery so you can face the world until next week.

James goes on to compare us also with a fruit vine.  You can’t grow squash on a corn plant.  A field of soybeans will never produce watermelon.  This is very similar to the water comparison.  The bottom line is “don’t expect to be a wonderful Christian when you spend most of your time trying not to be a Christian.”  So far, this passage has been pretty much a downer.  We have just as much if not more trouble today because of our tongues than they did centuries ago.

There are things that we can do to help ourselves a little.  A couple of weeks ago we talked about James 1:19 when he said, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”  I would say that at least 75% of us are guilty of something here.  The next time that you are in a conversation with someone that you don’t really agree with, then just be quiet about it for a minute or so.  Let it sink in a little.  Far too often we have to shoot back with something right away and it is hardly worthy of our intellect.  Slowdown in your conversations.  Don’t engage in the argument.  I can almost guarantee that if you learn to be quiet, people will soon come to think of you as wise.  This is why we have 2 ears and 1 mouth.  This can really be seen on Facebook where everyone has to have an opinion and theirs is always right.  You should slow down a little on social media before you reply to something.

And when you finally do engage after a waiting period, is what you say pleasing to God?  Whenever you talk, you should try to say things that are pleasing to God.  When you are talking to someone else, are you building them up or tearing them down?  I know of a pastor and a very good pastor who will always nod her head in an affirmative way no matter what you say to her.  She can turn anything negative to a positive.  She is a jewel.  And we can all be jewels just like her if we just stop and think before we talk.

The Good News of all this is that God loves us so much that He has given us a way out.  He has given us ways to tame our speech.  You probably can never trust your tongue but you can tame it as much as possible.  Jesus knows that you are not perfect but you are to try as hard as we can.  There is not a person here that Jesus does not love.  If you are having trouble in the things you say, then take it to Jesus.  Take it to Him in prayer.  If you don’t have a prayer life, this would be a good time to begin.  And when you are praying about what you are saying, make sure to leave twice as much time to listen to God as you spent talking to God.  This is why we have two ears and one mouth.  And this is especially true when talking and listening to Jesus.

What you say needs to bring glory to God.  Chuck Swindoll tells the story of a man who attended seminary with him.  This man had a birthmark that covered half his face.  After Chuck got to know him a little better, he asked him what had happened.  His friend answered by telling him what his dad had told him so many years ago: “Son, that birthmark is where an angel kissed your face.  You have it so that I can always pick you out of a crowd.”  Chuck’s friend then turned to him and said, “You know, I almost feel sorry for those who don’t have a birthmark.”  You know, that dad spoke words of life to his son and his son was still living off those words’ years later.

This is what a tongue can do that is working for Jesus.  Weigh in with your words before you speak them.  Jesus loves you so much that He will give you words of life.  Thank you, Jesus, for first loving us.  Let’s pray.