Sabbath Day Thoughts — “Speech Pathology” James 3:1-12
In the weekly Blast, I asked, “What is the most powerful part of the body?” Is it our brawny biceps? Our muscular legs that run up mountains? Our broad backs that shoulder heavy loads? According to the Apostle James, the most powerful part of the body is the tongue.
James may have a point. A review of 166 studies on the impact of verbal abuse on children found that the words of parents can have negative consequences that last a lifetime. Children who experience yelling, threats, belittling, humiliation, and name calling at home may be plagued by depression, aggression, conduct disorders, and anger. They are more likely to be abusive with siblings and other children and act out with delinquent behaviors at school and in community. Verbal abuse has lasting impact upon a child’s health with increased rates of substance abuse, eating disorders, obesity, and heart disease.
Beyond the family, words can shape how we feel about our neighbors. With the rise of immigration to the United States from the Mediterranean, eastern Europe, and Asia in the late 19th century, there was a rise in anti-immigrant hate speech. Political pundits and yellow journalists alleged that these new arrivals were taking American jobs. They advanced false theories that immigrants were intellectually inferior, subhuman, criminal. In 1891 when the Chief of Police in New Orleans was found dead, the local immigrant community was blamed. Nineteen Sicilian-Americans were put on trial. Although they were found innocent, an angry mob of 10,000 broke into the jail, dragged eleven of the men from their cells, and lynched them.
In this digital age, our words can have far-reaching impact and destructive outcomes as misinformation, fake news, and big lies flood cyberspace. During the 2020 election cycle, Russian trolls sought to amplify mistrust in the American electoral process. They denigrated mail-in-voting, alleged irregularities in local elections, and made false accusations of voter fraud. These false claims were picked up by some mainstream media outlets. The goal of the Russians was to suppress voter turn-out, sow anxiety and distrust, and call into question our free and fair elections. It worked. In 2022, 56% of respondents to a CNN poll indicated that they have “little or no confidence” that elections represent the will of the people.
According to the Apostle James, the destructive power of the tongue is nothing new. Writing to first-century Christians across the Roman Empire, James compared our tongues to bits that control horses, rudders that guide sailing ships, and flames that can ignite a major conflagration. Bit, rudder, flame, the tongue. These little things can have dramatic impact for good or evil. It all depends on how you choose to use them.
James was revisiting and expanding an earlier teaching of his big brother Jesus. In the twelfth chapter of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus challenged his critics among the Pharisees: “How can you speak good things when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words, you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned.” Jesus understood that our words reveal our character, shape our lives in community, and impact our eternal relationship with God.
When James wrote his warning about the destructive power of the tongue, he had seen first-hand the consequences of irresponsible, manipulative, and destructive words. James had seen families torn apart as Israel’s traditionalists denigrated and rejected their Christian kin. James had witnessed false teachers who tried to convince Christians that they must undergo circumcision and observe the Torah. He had also seen angry and destructive words used to inspire anti-Christian persecution. James himself walked with a permanent limp from injuries he sustained when an angry mob, opposed to his gospel teaching, attacked him in the Temple. They severely beat him, threw him down a flight of stairs, and left him for dead. We can understand why James taught, “the tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of life, and is itself set on fire by hell.”
James’ strong words and bold images are enough to make us bite our tongues. But I don’t believe that the apostle wanted to silence us. Rather, James hoped that his readers would use their words responsibly as sound teachers and good neighbors. After all, the tongue can tap into the good treasure of a faithful heart to create, build up, heal, and redeem. In Genesis, God is described as speaking the world into creation. “Let there be light!” In the prologue to John’s gospel, Jesus is described as the Word—God’s Word—made flesh, full of grace and truth, sent into the world to save it. Our words can be destructive, and yet they can also be powerfully good, constructive, faithful, and loving. We can build up what has been torn down.
If verbal abuse can undermine a child, then a judicious use of praise can build them up. Studies have found that a single word, like “Wow!”, or even a gesture, like a high five, can make kids feel good about themselves. Sincere praise can motivate a child to persevere in a tough task and inspire them to learn pro-social behaviors like helping, collaborating, and sharing positive feedback with others. Children who receive appropriate praise for hard work and progress are more likely to develop healthy self-esteem and less likely to suffer from depression.
What we have to say can also play a powerful role in building bridges in communities. We can counteract anti-immigrant hate speech by pointing to real-life examples, like our neighbors in Utica where 17,000 refugees have been resettled since 1979. Today, one in five Uticans is a refugee or child of refugees. They have come from all over the world: Myanmar, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Balkans, and more. Downtown Utica is filled with international restaurants, churches, community centers, and businesses. The influx of immigrants has been credited with saving the dying rustbelt community. Filmmaker Loch Pillipps, who made the documentary film “Utica: The Last Refuge,” says, “There’s a big passion gap on this issue [of immigration]. The minority of people in this country who are against refugee resettlement are super loud. This is a really industrious population that figures out how to fix places up and make the community better. They saved this town.”
In the lead up to the contentious 2024 election, the words of the Apostle James are an encouragement to use our own words judiciously. That begins by learning from responsible journalism and not social media. In talking to those whose opinions may differ from our own, we can stick to facts and have responsible discussions that include listening as well as sharing our opinions. We can refrain from malicious gossip that vilifies those who disagree with us. We can let our votes do the talking, trusting that, despite what the Russians might have us believe, we live in the greatest democracy in the world where every vote counts. My friend the Rev. Scott Paul-Bonham cautions that we should also remember that in this highly divisive political climate, close to half of Americans will be greatly disappointed when the dust settles on the 2024 election. Can we respond to their despair with compassion, reaching out with kind words that build bridges and remind us that we belong to one another? It might sound like a difficult challenge, but I suspect that the Apostle James and his brother Jesus would tell us that we are up to it.
In the year before Roman soldiers destroyed the Jerusalem Temple, James was hauled before a kangaroo court by his opponents and ordered to deny the gospel. Knowing that he had at last come to the end of his journey, the aging, lame apostle shared the good news for the last time before being put to the sword. It is said that, even as he faced death, James spoke with such integrity and loving conviction that many who heard came to believe. Amen.
Resources
Gwen Dewar. “The effects of praise on kids: 10 Evidence-based tips for better outcomes” in Parenting Science, 2024. Accessed online at https://parentingscience.com/effects-of-praise/.
Gabriel R. Sanchez and Keesha Middlemass. “Misinformation is eroding the public’s confidence in democracy” in The Brookings Institute: Governance Studies Media Office, July 26, 2022. Accessed online at Misinformation is eroding the public’s confidence in democracy (brookings.edu)
Jules Struck. “‘They saved this town’: Refugees poured into Utica and cleared the rust from a dying industrial city” in Syracuse Magazine, May 27, 2022. Accessed online at ‘They saved this town’: Refugees poured into Utica and cleared the rust from a dying industrial city – syracuse.com
The Bronfenbrenner Center (Cornell University). “The Long-Term Underappreciated Damage of Verbal Abuse” in Psychology Today, October 10, 2023. Accessed online at https://www.psychologytoday.com
Library of Congress. “Under Attack: Immigration and Relocation in United States History” Classroom Materials. Accessed online at Under Attack | Italian | Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History | Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress
James Boyce. “Commentary on James 3:1-12” in Preaching This Week, Sept. 13, 2015. Accessed online at Commentary on James 3:1-12 – Working Preacher from Luther Seminary
Margaret Aymer. “Commentary on James 3:1-12” in Preaching This Week, Sept. 16, 2018. Accessed online at Commentary on James 3:1-12 – Working Preacher from Luther Seminary
Sandra Hack Polaski. “Commentary on James 3:1-12” in Preaching This Week, Sept. 16, 2012. Accessed online at Commentary on James 3:1-12 – Working Preacher from Luther Seminary
James 3:1-12
3 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will face stricter judgment. 2 For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is mature, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. 4 Or look at ships: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.
How great a forest is set ablaze by a such a small fire! 6 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 life, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8 but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people, made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth comes a blessing and a curse. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.
Joann White 