An Indictment From James
Today’s scripture at church was James 3:1-12. The entire chapter is about how one’s tongue can’t be tamed and how it can be “full of deadly poison.” The part that his me was this:
10Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
11Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
12Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
In other words, “do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” I know that when I’m in my office, all by myself, and something is frustrating me, it’s not blessings that are proceeding out of my mouth. I can curse with the best of them, and on occasion I’ve said things that would make a sailor blush. Because of that, this passage resonated with me. I’ve made attempts before to “curb my language,” and did fine when things were going great, but reverted back to the “potty mouth” when things weren’t so great. James is telling me I need to have another go at it.
This chapter can also be taken as admonishing one against gossip. Our minister told a story about a woman who had spread a rumor around town and had hurt the person it was about. She asked her minister what she could do to make amends and he told her to go the market and buy a chicken. She was to bring it back to his house, plucking the feathers out along the way. When she made it to his house with the freshly plucked chicken, the minister told her to go back and gather up every feather she had dropped. A few hours later she returned with just a handful of feathers. She learned just how easy it is to let things drop, such as rumors, but how hard it is to clean up afterwards. We should all remember that.
