James 3:1-12
Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Rick Warren is one of the most famous and influential Christian pastors in the world today. He is the founding pastor of “Saddleback Church” in California, as well as the author of the best selling book, “The Purpose Driven Life.” I read the other day that people from his church, which was founded as a Southern Baptist church in 1980, have served in every country on the continent of Africa. Amazing!
I’m not big into “Twitter” but Rick Warren is one of the people I follow. I don’t know how he finds the time but he posts something like 20 “tweets” every day. The other day he “tweeted” a link to a newspaper interview where he addressed recent criticism that accused him of compromising the gospel by sharing a meal with Muslim friends.
The article clarified that Pastor Warren did, in fact, respond to an invitation to join a dinner hosted by Muslim friends to celebrate the end of Ramadan. They had invited him to their celebration because he had, on a number of occasions, invited his Muslim friends to join in Saddleback’s Christmas and Easter services. It was this simple act of friendship that led some to claim that Pastor Warren had compromised the gospel and that his church had established a “partnership” with an Islamic mosque. The accusations had spread to the point of name-calling and condemnation.
I mention this story because I think it is an example of what James is talking about here:
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
In the ancient world fresh water was not just an assumed right of life. The survival of towns and cities depended on sources of fresh water. A well that produced brackish or salty water was quickly abandoned in favor of one that produced only fresh water.
James is saying that both good and bad water do not and should not come from the same well. We cannot offer words of praise and worship to God on Sunday, then utter curses toward people created in God’s image on Monday, whether or not those people look like us, talk like us or believe like us. Remember that James is writing to people who were surrounded by a culture that both hated and misunderstood them!
The sad thing about the criticism of Rick Warren was that it didn’t come from people outside the church; it didn’t come from those who call themselves agnostic or atheist; it came from other Christians. I think James would be disturbed by this kind of thing.
Now; is there a time and a place for vigorous theological debate with regard to sound doctrine? Absolutely! In his own words, Rick Warren writes:
“Christians have a view of God that is unique. We believe Jesus is God! We believe God is a Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Not three separate gods but one God. No other faith believes Jesus is God.”
Furthermore, he says,
“Our culture has accepted two huge lies: The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.” (Both quotes from Rick Warren on Muslims, Evangelism and Missions in “The Christian Post”)
James is challenging us in much the same way. He is saying that the words we speak on Monday through Saturday must reflect the God we worship and praise on Sunday! He’s saying that whether we are speaking about those who sit next to us in worship or those who would never set foot in a church or those who are on the other side of the political aisle, our words are to flow from the same well.
Brian Coffey
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