Taming the Tongue of a Sass-Master

Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 

James 3:11 KJV

In the book Tuck Everlasting, a family discovers a spring that bestows immortality when its waters are consumed. At first, they find the advantages of eternal youth to be awesome: they never aged, remaining as they were when they first drank from the spring. But over decades, with the passage of time, they yearned for a normal, mortal life. The water of the fountain of youth was both sweet and bitter.

The fountain spoken of by the Apostle James, however, is not one of youth, but of the everlasting impact of our words. This fountain, our tongue, according to James, should not be producing words of both love and hatred.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. James 3:9-10, NIV.

As newlyweds, my husband and I wanted our marriage to be centered on our faith in God. We both worked full-time, but carved out time to develop as believers in prayer groups and Bible studies (not all at the same time!) with others, many of whom became lifelong friends. 

One afternoon, I exchanged some sharp words with Tim. Actually, it was less of an exchange and more like direct fire aimed at my husband. A few minutes later, I sat alone at our kitchen table and flipped open my Bible randomly. These words from the epistle of James seemed to be in neon lights: “Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?”

I knew immediately that the Lord was addressing my sharp tongue. Here I was, sitting down to study the word and bless the Lord with my praises directly after spewing venom at my life-partner. Gulp.

Anyone who knows me will wonder if that spectacular moment of sweet conviction truly sparked change in me. I have a way with words: a teenager recently told my daughter that “your mom is a sass-master.” Gulp again.

But I never forgot the gentle admonition from God that day. I apologized to Tim and began to see the truths of the Word of God to be very real and applicable to my life.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:7-8, NIV.

Our words can carry such weight: the cold boulders of ill-will, anger or envy, or the warm, thick honey of love, encouragement, mercy and laughter.  We have the power to choose which words we hurl at those around us, even those who appear to deserve the best a sass-master can deliver. Lord, tame my tongue!

Because I love You...please help me do this right (Tony C)

Hope everyone had a terrific weekend filled with worship for our most worthy Father! This week, your Kingdom Bloggers are writing on stand out passage from the Book of James. Hope you find blessing in what we share.

James writes a line of scripture that yours truly takes serious and to heart.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. James 3:1 (ESV)

The KJV translates the word teachers as masters, but the original Greek word is didaskalos and is predominately used in the New Testament to refer to someone who teaches about the things of God (Blue Letter Bible).

So why would God hold teachers to a higher standard?

The answer might seem obvious to some but elude others who hold that God's mercy is equally applied to everyone. Isn't God's mercy equally applied to everyone? I would argue no based on the fact that some come to God's gift of grace after a lifetime of sin. Jesus covered that life just as He did the one who lives a life in close walk with Him. Having said that, I don't believe God loves one more than another. Let me explain...

I have three daughters. I love them equally which means I love them completely. However, my patience may be tried a lot more with one of the three over the course of their lifetime, well, their lifetime that I'm still around to see. Does that one therefore require more love from me? I would argue no. My love is still the same unconditional love (agape) for all three...even if the one feels she may have required more of my love to overcome causing more disappointments.

In the end, each of us is destined to only one of two places for eternity. We each will face our Creator in a revealing moment that will reflect how much, or little, we showed love and obedience to Him with the time we were given here on Earth. Is it possible to disappoint God? Absolutely! But, that doesn't mean that disappointment will lead to an eternity of separation from Him. If disappointment were the damning criteria, I'm afraid Heaven would be near empty of mankind.

Imagine that moment of reckoning, your moment, and you've spent efforts to teach His word in any type of false manner. Being a teacher comes with an inherent or implied notion of knowledge...a position of intellectual trust...people lean on that as truth. Leading just a single person away from the gift of salvation in those duties has an eternal consequence for that person. How crushing to realize that fact when your moment comes! God expects and deserves so much more in a teacher's efforts.

Christians are called to be the salt and the light by Jesus, and I believe part of being the salt involves preserving and protecting the Truth. Doing so is an expectation of God, especially if He has blessed you with a talent for teaching the Good News. Don't disappoint the Father. Take James 3:1 serious as you serve God teaching His word and make Him proud of your efforts for His glory.