3:1Teaching was a highly valued and respected profession in Jewish culture, and many Jews who embraced Christianity wanted to become teachers. James warned that although it is good to aspire to teach, teachers’ responsibility is great because their words and example affect others’ spiritual lives. If you are ina teaching or leadership role, how are you affecting those you lead?
Life Application Study BibleJamesChapter 3
James 3
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 2118, 2119
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3James 3
Controlling the Tongue
1Dear brothers and sisters,* not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. 3Wecan make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in itsmouth. 4And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6And the tongue is a flame of fire. It isa whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.* 7People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, ®but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. 9Sometimes it praises our LORD and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! 11Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? 12Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.*
3. Genuine wisdom
True Wisdom Comes from God
131f you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. ‘But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. 15For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 16For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. 17But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.
18And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap aharvest of righteousness.*3:6 Or for it will burn in hell. 3:12 Greek from salt. 3:18 Or of good things, or of justice.When our speech is motivated byIt is full ofBitter jealousySelfish ambitionEarthly concerns and desiresUnspiritual thoughts and ideasDisorderEvilGod and his wisdomPeaceConsideration for othersSubmissionMercySincerity, impartialityGoodnessgives us a picture of our basic sinful nature. God works tochange us from the inside out. When the Holy Spirit purifies aheart, he gives self-control so that the person will speak wordsthat please God.3:13-18 Have you ever known anyone who claimed to be wisebut who acted foolishly? True wisdom can be measured by aperson's character. Just as you can identify a tree by the typeof fruit it produces, you can evaluate your wisdom by the wayyou act. Foolishness leads to disorder, but wisdom leads topeace and goodness. Are you tempted to escalate the conflict,pass on the gossip, or fan the fire of discord? Careful, winsomespeech and wise, loving words are the seeds of peace. God lovespeacemakers (Matthew 5:9).3:14, 15 Bitter jealousy and selfish ambition are inspired bythe devil. {t is easy for us to be drawn into wrong desires bythe pressures of society and sometimes even by well-meaningChristians. By listening to the advice: “Assert yourself,” “Go forit,” “Set high goals,” we can be drawn into greed and destructivecompetitiveness. Seeking God's wisdom delivers us from theneed to compare ourselves to others and to want what they have.
Textual footnotes
- 3:1 Greek brothers; also in 3:10.
Life Application Notes 5 notes
3:2,3What you say and what you don't say are both important. To use proper speech you must not only say the right words at the right time but also not say what you shouldn't. Examples of an untamed tongue include gossiping, putting others down, bragging, manipulating, false teaching, exaggerating, complaining, flattering, and lying. Before you speak, ask, Is what I want to say true? Is it necessary? {s it kind?
3:6James compares the damage the tongue can do to a raging fire—the tongue’s wickedness has its source in hell itself. The uncontrotled tongue can do terrible damage. Satan uses the tongue to divide people and pit them against one another. Idle and hateful words are damaging because they spread destruction quickly, and no one can stop the results once they are spoken. We dare not be careless with what we say, thinking we can apologize later, because even if we do, the scars remain. A few words spoken in anger can destroy a relationship that took years to build. Before you speak, remember that words are like fire— you can neither control nor reverse the damage they can do.
3:8If no human being can tame the tongue, why bother trying? Even though we may not achieve perfect control of our tongues, the Holy Spirit will help us learn self-control. Remember that we are not fighting the tongue’s fire in our own strength. The Holy Spirit will give us increasing power to monitor and control what we say, so that when we are offended, the Spirit will remind us of God’s love, and we won't react in a hateful manner. When we are criticized, the Spirit will heal the hurt and help us to not lash out.
3:9-12Our contradictory speech often puzzles us. At times our words are right and pleasing to God, but at other times they are violent and destructive. Which of these speech patterns reflects our true identity? We were made in God's image, but the tongue
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