What is man’s deadliest weapon? Perhaps you may think that in this century, the deadliest weapon is the atomic bomb. We witnessed that at the end of WWIIi, America dropped two atomic bombs and the whole city Hiroshima was destroyed and many died. Because of this, the radiation affected many. This could be the deadliest weapon of mankind; you can see it. However, there is a weapon of men that we cannot see and is more deadly than the atomic bomb; that is our tongue. Today we shall use the words of Elder James for our learning and spiral nurture.

Between men, we use language to communicate but many times we also use our language to hurt others because either we’re careless we or intentionally use our tongues to harm others because we don’t restrain our tongue. Today we shall use some of the teachings of elder James and through this opportunity we shall reflect on ourselves.

As the Bible says, we hope that we can bridle our tongue, then we can be a perfect man. We first turn to James 3:1-12;

1 ‘My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
3 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
4 Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.
5 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.
7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.
8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.
10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.
11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.’

Here Elder James gives us a beautiful encouragement. Here says the deadliest weapon of man is the tongue. This short passages used three analogies to talk about the tongue.

The analogy of the horse

If we put a bit in the horse’s mouth, we can control the horse

The rudder of the ship

A ship is so big but if you can control the rudder, you can control the entire ship.

A fire

The tongue is like a fire and the destructive force of fire is very great and can cause much hurt.

With these three analogies, he described the terror of the tongue.

We know that the book of James is a very practical book. It is a marrow for action. We know that if we have faith but is not accompanied by action, what use is it? Faith and action go hand in hand. The action will demonstrate your faith; it’s not possible to have faith and have no action. These two come together. James talks about how our faith has to be accompanied by action and this faith is tied to the things we do.

If we’re anchored on God, our life of faith will have a great change. Our tongues will also be used to exalt others and not argue. Our tongue may be the smallest organ, but it has the greatest destructive power. Elder James uses chapter 3 to talk about the tongue and from v13-18, he makes a comparison - A wisdom from above and a wisdom from the earth;

13 ‘Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.
14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.
16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.’

James describes the tongue as a very destructive fire. The Chinese have a saying, “Once you speak a word, it’s hard to take it back.” Once you speak a word and the damage is done, you can’t take your words back. Meaning, you must think before you speak. It literally means that once you’ve said something, even if you have a chariot of four horses, you can’t take it back. You must bear responsibility for what you’ve said. Since it’s so, why not think carefully before speaking?

We read James 3:6-8;

6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.
7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.
8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

We see how elder James talks about the tongue, especially in v8;

But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

As Christians, we all the more must bridle our tongue and must put in effort and spiritual nurture in this aspect. Many times because of our temper or what we feel is right, we say something and hurt the other party. If this is the case, shouldn’t we be more careful? The fire is used to describe the tongue because it’s destructive force is great. In the past, people didn’t have natural gas for cooking. They had to use firewood with open windows to cook. If your windows are open, and the wind blows, the fire with the wind becomes bigger and bigger. If uncontrolled, the fire can destroy your house because the houses in the past were made of wood. It is with great wisdom that James used fire as an analogy. He is trying to say that the tongue is just like a fire; it is truly destructive. Today, it’s common for relationships to be destroyed by the tongue.

Today we look at an example; this person nearly killed his family with a sentence. We read 1 Samuel 25:3;

‘The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the man was harsh and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb.’

Here records of a man named Nabal; he was harsh and evil, and his wife was Abigail. He was also a rich man. David and his men were nearby guarded by their sheep and were able to carry out their duties smoothly. David sent his men to Nabal to ask for some food. What did Nabal say? We read 1 Samuel 25:10-11;

10 ‘Then Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, “Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his master.
11 Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?”’

We see here that Nabal didn’t treat David well. Although David took care of his flock, he used such words to reply David’s men. Continuing further, this angered David. This almost caused his entire family to be killed. We read v13;

‘Then David said to his men, “Every man gird on his sword.” So every man girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And about four hundred men went with David, and two hundred stayed with the supplies.’

We can see that these words of Nabal also brought upon such a calamity upon himself. If not for the timely intercession of Abigail, Nabal’s entire family would have been killed. In this case, there are two people, the husband Nabal and his wife. One spoke hastily while the other spoke words of wisdom. We’ll read the wise words of Abigail that saved the entire household in v23-27;

23 ‘Now when Abigail saw David, she dismounted quickly from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground.
24 So she fell at his feet and said: “On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be! And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant.
25 Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.
26 Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, since the Lord has held you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then, let your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be as Nabal.
27 And now this present which your maidservant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. ‘

v30-31;

30 ‘And it shall come to pass, when the Lord has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel,
31 that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.”’

We can see that Nabal and his wife were very different. The words they spoke were completely different. At that point, Abigail wanted to resolve the matter and she spoke with words of wisdom. She first acknowledged that her husband was foolish and evil, “a scoundrel Nabal”. She didn’t try to defend her husband and acknowledged that he was a scoundrel. She even put down her own husband saying that Nabal is his name and folly was with him. Abigail was truly a wise woman. Not only so, she even reminded David that he was to be king and to not let this incident be a mark in his record. To shed blood, how could he glorify God? Would his conscious be clear?

Can we see the contrast between this husband and wife? With a sentence from his mouth, Nabal almost caused his entire family to be destroyed. A stark contrast from his wife; using her wise words, she managed to turn the whole incident around. The whole family was to be destroyed by David and his men but because of her words, she managed to resolve the matter.

We read what David replied to her. We read 1 Samuel 25:32-35;

32 ‘Then David said to Abigail: “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me!
33 And blessed is your advice and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand.
34 For indeed, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal!”
35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heeded your voice and respected your person.”’

We can see that the words Abigail spoke saved her entire house.

Today, in our speech, we have to be careful. Many times, because of what we say, we cause misunderstandings. Because of what we say, we hurt others. Two initially good friends because of a few words are unable to remain as friends. This happens because we’re not careful with our words; we may say something in our temper. For the recipient, he would be angry. Because of the hurt, they don’t speak again. Such things often happen whether at home, in church or in society. Let us not be a fool but speak words of wisdom.

We read what Proverbs has to teach us. We read Proverbs 15:1;

‘A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.’

Proverbs is a wisdom book. In it are many words of wisdom and we can learn from these words. If we don’t bridle our tongues, we will stir up trouble. We can see from the example of Nabal; his household was almost destroyed but his wife helped avert this disaster. In our lives, how is our relationship between husband and wife? Will the words we speak cause the other party to be uncomfortable, or do we sometimes intentionally speak hurtful words? Shouldn’t husband and wife be one body? The Bible says that two shall become one, and no man shall separate what God joins.

We’re unable to act this out and speak in peace with others because we often speak with our temper. We’re unable to control our temper and hence many times the words we speak end up hurting the other party. The speaker has spoken before on how to build up a relationship between husband and wife, especially in speech. Elder James gives us this exaltation regarding how we should speak. We read James 1:19-20;

‘So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.’

Why are we unable to bridle our tongues? This is because often, we choose to be slow to hear and swift to speak. However, what James tells us is different; he tells us to be swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath.

Often, between husband and wife, there is a difference in opinion. Coming from different backgrounds, you now live together. You have different opinions and this is natural. But ultimately, both needs a common understanding and towards a common goal, you work together. Not that after coming to an understanding, you continue to have a differing opinion. Bridling your tongue is not just controlling your temper but also to be swift to hear. After you understand, then we must spend some time to think about our response. Because it has passed through your thinking, then we’ll realise that what the person was saying was not how we’ve had thought. Then, you’ll be slow to anger.

All the more, the wrath of men cannot produce the righteousness of God. Today, we must truly learn to bridle our tongue. This is because what we say and do will affect others. Even pointing out the flaws of others is not very nice. Sometimes, we have to look at the entire circumstance. Perhaps the person you’re pointing out is not truly like that. Often we only hear one side of the story and don’t confirm the entire circumstance from both parties before coming to a conclusion; we’re too hasty. We have to hear the story from both sides. Isn’t this using our tongues to harm others? Why elder James described the tongue as the fire is because it’s destructive fire is great. But because this tongue is created by God, we must use it to speak words of edification and not to harm others. Elder James gives us this teaching; what must we ask for?

We read James 3:13-17;

13 ‘Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.
14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.
16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

Elder James said that since the potential destructive power of our tongue is so great. V13-18 makes the comparative wisdom of the earth and heaven. There’s a saying, “谈天说地”, meaning to talk about the things above and the earth”. The things of the earth is talking about the faults of others. When we talk about others, our fingers are like the finger of judgement pointing to others but we forget that four of our fingers are pointing back at us. We’re very good at criticising others, and this means to 谈天说地.

We should speak words that edify others. Using our lives as a testimony, we edify others. Elder James here asks, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.” Wisdom and understanding show that this person is leading a life of faith according to the words of God. Living the life of faith according to the principals of the Bible, then you can show the wisdom of God to show that you respect the teachings of God. Then, in your life of faith, you can be a testimony. Those who point out the flaws in others belong to the wisdom of the earth. It’s not to say that when someone has done something wrong, you don’t point out the mistakes. If the person speaks something against the truth, then you have to use the words of the Bible to correct this person. This is not pointing out a person’s flaws but what you should do; this is speaking the truth according to the truth. Here says that you shouldn’t point out the flaws of others. Don’t because of the words you say create misunderstandings. All these come from our hearts. We cannot say that the things we do and what we have in our hearts are unrelated. We must control our hearts.

What does James tell us? If we lack this wisdom, we can ask of God. We must ask for heavenly wisdom and use this wisdom to manage our lives of faith. What is a life of heavenly wisdom? We read James 3:17;

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

Since we are the children of the Lord Jesus, in our lives of faith should we not lead lives similar to the life of Jesus? The wisdom from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partially and without hypocrisy. All these can be seen in our lives and actions but the important part is to ask for this wisdom from above. A pure and peaceable heart will allow us to be in harmony with others. Naturally, we’ll adjust our speech.

In the past, we may be hasty with our words and have harmed many. However, today, with this wisdom from above, we must pursue peace just as Jesus. This is something we must pursue and work towards. If everyone can strive towards this, the church will be a place full of warmth. There wouldn’t be strife and arguments when everyone leads their lives according to the wisdom from above. This is something we greatly desire.

Of course, in our flesh we have our weaknesses, that’s why we have to spiritually nurture. In the process, we need to make sacrifice. In order to change our way of living, we have to do this spiritual nurture. Spiritual nurture is not just something that we say but something we have to act according to the words of the Bible. Then, we will be able to help others with our words, bridle our tongues and be subordinate to God.

We ought to pursue and ask God to help us so that in our lives of faith we may edify others and glorify God.