Put A Bit In It

James the half brother of Jesus pulls no punches when he writes to the dispersed Christians of his day. His words are some of the most recognizable in scripture because of how punchy and “in your face” they are. In particular is that of James chapter 3 when he talks about the tongue. Our tongue to be exact, because after all, in the New Testament – when they are writing to the Disciples they are writing it to us as well. So, James absolutely hammers us when he says, “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... 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.” But the final blow, the one that knocks us out, trashes every argument or comeback we can muster up is what James says to sum up his scolding of us in verses 17-18, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” We cannot control other people, likewise, we are not going to particularly like everyone – however, as Christians we do not have the right nor the option of being any other way to them, with them, or about them, than the way Jesus was and is to, with, and about us.