Our Words Are Part of Our Works
For the past month, I’ve been studying the book of James. I noticed that during my prayer time, the things that I most often confessed to God were the things that came out of my mouth. Out of this realization and conviction, I felt led to do a deep study into the book of James - the main portion of scripture that deals directly with the words we say, and how they affect us and others. In my study in James, the Lord revealed something a little unexpected to me that I feel led to share with you- Let’s jump in together!
James begins his letter by encouraging us to be joyful in the midst of trials. That our trials are actually strengthening our faith, if we will allow them. In chapter 2, James deals with a familiar struggle in scripture: faith vs. works. In chapter 2 verse 18, James writes,
“So also, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works and I’ll show you my faith BY my works.”
James is saying that we can’t separate the two. That faith without works is dead, because faith or belief that doesn’t yield works, is really no faith at all. When we yield to Jesus and allow him to transform our lives, our actions should look different than they did before. This is not to be confused with earning our salvation by our works. Works don’t earn our salvation, they prove our salvation- they are evidence of an inward change. (For more on faith and works, Paul also deals heavily with this in Galatians chapter 3.) James sums up this section the way he began it,
“So also faith apart from works is dead.” James 2: 26
That’s a big statement! One we shouldn’t take lightly as followers of Jesus. But it is one that is often difficult or challenging for us to understand. It’s important for us to remember that when this letter was written, it wasn’t divided up into chapters and verses. This didn’t happen until MUCH later. Originally, it was a letter- like any letter we would receive today- written from James, the brother of Jesus, to the Jewish church that was scattered. It was intended to be read as one continuous piece. To begin this study, I read James without chapter or verse numbers several times, and although I’ve read the book of James many times before, I’ve never made the connection that the section on taming the tongue (James 3) comes right after the section on living out our faith by our works (James 2). In the past, when I’ve read the portion on faith and works, my mind always jumps to “doing good things”. Serving others, feeding the hungry, doing mission work, you know, doing things! But listen to what James writes:
“For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.”
James 3: 2-12
Yikes! So good works include the words I say? The act of living out my faith hinges on how I use my tongue? And in our 2020 perspective, we would need to expand this to how we use our thumbs and fingers- not just our verbal words, but through our text messages and digital words as well. Sometimes it is easier for us to loosen our tongue through our fingers. My guess is that almost all of us have sent something in a text message or snap chat that we wouldn’t dare say to someone outloud.
Verse 10 says, “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so!”
I couldn’t agree more! But I am a follower of Jesus, so why do I still struggle so much with my mouth? When I read this, it’s easy for me to become frustrated and defeated. I told you at the beginning that I began to study James because of the conviction I felt over my words. I can quickly fall into a trap of self pity, feeling overwhelmed by how much my words DO NOT honor God and tear down those around me instead of building others up.
James gives us hope (maybe?) in chapter 3 verse 8, “No human being can tame the tongue…” We can’t do it on our own! We can try and try to hold our tongue, and we can make every effort on our own, but we just can’t do it! If you are like me, you often try to get yourself under control and end up defeated, ready to give up. We can’t do it on our own, but thanks be to God we have a Helper! We are promised that the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness and helps us to live in the light instead of in the flesh (Romans 8).
This is good news! Through depending and leaning on the Holy Spirit, we can work on taming our tongues. We can begin to notice the things we say and how they affect those around us. We can begin to filter our words through Ephesians 4:29: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” We can pause before we speak and offer a quick prayer, “Jesus, help me to speak in a way that honors you” before we proceed in a conversation.
Sometimes it’s easy for us to “do good things”. To mark our community service off of a checklist, but do the words we say about others and to others evidence our faith?
Because the reality is: Our words are part of our works.
We can’t excuse or ignore them. Our words should reflect our belief and faith in Jesus. In a world that encourages us to express ourselves through our words, as followers of Jesus we need to ask ourselves to what expense? James ties this together for us- our faith without works is dead, and part of our works - the evidence of our faith- is to glorify and honor God with the words we say. With the help of the Holy Spirit, let’s submit our tongues to Jesus this week and see how we are changed.
Pray Psalm 19:14: “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
