James 3:3-12 – “Plotting A Course”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

³Observe the horses: We place the bridles into their mouths into them obeying us and we turn about their whole body. ⁴Observe also the ships, being so great and driven by fierce winds, and turned about by a very small rudder, wherever the impulse of the pilot purposes. ⁵Thus also, the tongue is a tiny member and boasts great things. Behold! A small fire ignites an entire forest, ⁶and the tongue [is] a fire, the world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, defiling the whole body, igniting the circle of the life, and being ignited by hell.

⁷For every nature of creature, whether birds, reptiles, or sea creatures, is tamed or has been tamed to the nature of humans, ⁸but no one is able to tame the tongue, an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹With it we bless the Lord and Father and with it we curse the men, ones made according to the likeness of God. ¹⁰Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers, these things ought not thus to be. ¹¹A spring never produces the sweet and the bitter out of the same opening. ¹²My brothers, a fig tree is not able to do olives or a grapevine figs, thus neither sweet water to do salt.

I haven’t read too many commentaries yet on this passage, but I wonder if anyone else notices that the passage contains a logical anomaly? I think it takes us in a direction we’re not used to going. It is something I noticed years ago, something I believe has helped me a lot, and perhaps something worth recording, in case one of my grandchildren or great-grandchildren ever stumble across these feeble scratchings.

Logical anomaly. What do I mean? Well, we are all long accustomed to the concept that “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:34). The concept is that, sooner or later, the mouth will express what is really in the heart. In a sense, the heart is the master and sooner or later the mouth will follow suit. As Jesus went on to say in Matthew 12, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him” (v35).  The admonition then would be, “Above all else, guard your heart, for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov 4:23). I would suggest it makes perfect sense that, if I want my mouth to speak kindness, then I must first of all make sure there’s kindness in my heart. If I’m harboring bitterness and resentment in my heart, then invariably that is what will come out of my mouth. The heart ultimately controls the tongue. That makes perfect sense to me.

But notice what James is saying. The bit in the horse’s mouth does what? It “turns its whole body.” The horse follows the bit. The ship’s rudder does what? It steers a ship even against fierce winds. The ship goes where the rudder leads. In vv. 5-7, he says the tongue is itself “a fire, a world of evil, a restless evil, full of deadly poison … It defiles the whole person, is itself set on fire by hell … and no man can tame the tongue.” The bit turns the horse and the rudder actually sets the path of a great ship. Illustrating the tongue, these things tell us it is an active player in the course of a person’s life. Clearly in the Bible, the mouth is controlled by the heart but James’ illustrations are telling us there is also a sense in which our life is controlled by our mouth.

That is the logical anomaly I’m speaking of. On the one hand, the heart is ultimately controlling the tongue, and so I need to be vigilant about my heart; but, on the other hand, there is a sense in which the tongue itself takes control of our lives. In some sense, like a ship’s rudder, the words I speak come back to actually control me.

Interestingly, Proverbs 4:23,24 actually presents this same anomaly. As quoted above, v23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for out of it are the issues of life.” But v24 goes on to say, “Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.” The two show up side by side even there.

So we need to realize that what we say may turn around and control who we are and what we do. Its effect may be to actually influence our hearts.

What is going on? I suspect at least one answer lies in our realization that others are watching. If I talk like a tough guy, people will expect me to act like one. In that case I might end up doing something I wouldn’t have, except I was afraid people would laugh at me if I didn’t – after what I’d said. On the other hand, when I’ve owned the Lord and spoken of him to others, I am aware they’re watching and have high expectations of me. I may actually choose to act better because I have to live up to my words. So I said something and that something comes back to guide my life.

I have actually found this to work in a number of other ways. For instance, there is always what I call a “culture of negativity” where the easiest thing for people to do is talk badly about anyone who happens to not be present or say negative things about the company or the City or the church or whatever. The easiest thing to do is join them. But that isn’t who I want to be, so what I try to do as early as possible is to say positive things. Usually even as they come out of my mouth, I can feel that I’m swimming against a current. People pause and stare at me for a second and then tend not to go on with their negativity, but the most positive effect I find is on me. Once I’ve spoken positively it is like I’ve distanced myself from that culture of negativity. I’m no long “expected” to be a part of it and I find myself free to be positive. I spoke the words and they, like the bit or rudder, turn around and chart a course for my life.

This applies in a big way to my wife and children. Once again, I think there is a horrific culture of negativity out there. When “the guys” are all together, men are simply expected to berate and mock their wives and women in general. When “the girls” get together, they do the same to their husbands and men in general. They all tend to speak of their children as if they’re just completely frustrated. The kids drive them crazy. They’re apparently nothing but trouble. I decided from the very beginning I wouldn’t join in that kind of talk. I deliberately speak well of my wife and kids and I’ve found then that is what people expect of me and it is then easy to be that person – the person who actually loves his wife and children. You could say it started in my heart (and it did) but I also know that having spoken the words became a powerful inducement for me to be that person.

I would suggest such knowledge actually puts a powerful tool in my hand. Whatever I want to be or should be, there may be times when I can choose words which will then help me to stay that course. On the other hand, God help us, we need to realize that idle words may make it easy to fail and/or very hard to recover and do right.

Here is perhaps one place where our mouths are set on fire by either Heaven or hell. Satan is a liar and a murderer. He would persuade us in unguarded moments to say things that turn the course of our lives in the wrong direction. Perhaps it wasn’t deliberate. Perhaps it really wasn’t “in our heart” but just idle words. But still we said it and suddenly find ourselves being carried along by a current down the wrong river. Jesus on the other hand is Him whose “lips have been anointed with grace” (Psalm 45:2). He would have us speak truth and kindness and love, especially when, having done so, we in some way have charted a course that we’ll be glad to find ourselves following.

If we would make these choices, the choices themselves are still coming from our heart, but perhaps this is a tool we can use to further solidify our determination to live out grace? I would suggest we need all the help we can get.