Hespeler, September 15, 2024 © Scott McAndless
Proverbs 1:20-33, Psalm 19, James 3:1-12, Mark 8:27-38
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n the Second Letter of Timothy, you will find this famous passage: “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.”(2 Timothy 3:16-17) And we could probably talk for a long time about what, exactly, those verses mean. But one thing I have always understood is that they mean that I can take any passage in the Bible and that I should be able to take from it some useful lessons around which I can construct a sermon.
Do Not be a Teacher
Imagine my surprise, therefore, when I open up our passage this morning from the Letter of James to see that it begins like this: “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will face stricter judgment. For all of us make many mistakes.”
So, apparently all scripture is useful for teaching but, maybe I shouldn’t be teaching at all? Or is it perhaps that all scripture is useful, but maybe I shouldn’t teach this scripture? Is this passage particularly full of pitfalls? I believe that is the warning that James is trying to give us. Because it is a passage about the dangers of the human tongue. So, another way to see it is to say, you can use any scripture to write a sermon, but you would be crazy to use this one.
Risks in Preaching
And there is a lot of truth in that. James is absolutely right that what you say – even sometimes one word out of place – can have a devastating impact on somebody’s life. And this is especially true if you speak as someone with authority in the church. Any preacher who doesn’t realize that and doesn’t recognize that she or he has probably hurt someone with something that they said is just not paying attention.
I’ll make a confession. I was once praying and included a petition for people who struggle with or have struggled with mental health issues. A good thing to pray for, I think. Then I shifted to prayers about people with other kinds of ailments. But when I made that shift, I said something like, “And we pray for those who deal with real health issues too…” and went on to pray for some people with bodily ailments. But I put one very problematic word in that transition, didn’t I?
“Real” Illness
Do you know how many people a word like “real” can harm in that context? People who have mental health issues are often made to feel by others as if their illness is illusionary, that they are imagining it or making themselves sick. This is often said to them in a way that strongly implies that it is all their own fault if they are clinically depressed or bipolar or suffer from any number of mental illnesses.
Now, I know that that is not true. I know that mental illness is real illness and that it is not something that can simply be fixed with a change of attitude. But do you know what? When I use a phrase like “real illness” in a way that contrasts with mental illness, it actually doesn’t matter what I know or what I believe. It doesn’t matter what I intend to mean.
Anyone who has been told all their life that what they struggle with is fake, is only going to hear that word “real” and all of the negative messages that they have heard all of their lives will just start playing out in their minds all over again. One ill-chosen word might well set them back and leave them to conclude that the church is no better than all of those people in their lives who have failed to appreciate what they struggle with.
James is Right
When I did choose that wrong word many years ago, one person did challenge me and correct me, something for which I am immensely grateful. It gave me the opportunity to apologize for my words and the harm that they caused and thankfully that person did understand. But I honestly don’t know how many other people I could have hurt with that word or with some other ill-chosen word spoken at some other time. So, I absolutely agree with James that this is a perilous thing that I dare to do when I seek to teach people about the word of God.
And surely, as James prefaces this particular passage with that warning, I would be a great fool to choose to take it as the text for my sermon. It might just reflect badly back on me. But what this passage is saying is so important, not only for me but for all of us that, as perilous as it may be, I believe it is extremely import that we pay it some close attention. The truth that this letter proclaims, that words matter and that they can do more harm than many other things, is one that we ignore to our peril.
The Housing Crisis
Let me give you one example of a word that I have come to see in a very different light just in the past year. One of the huge crises that we have been facing in our society for a while now is a lack of affordable housing. It is, in fact, the crisis that is fueling many of the other problems we are dealing with including inflation, the overdose crisis and problems with immigration. So, it is obviously very important that we talk about it.
But you may have noticed that many advocates and agencies addressing the problem have changed one of their ways of talking about it. We used to talk about the problem of homelessness. But now you are more likely to hear officials talking about people living without shelter, houselessness or even people “living rough.”
Why Change the Language?
Now, if you noticed that shift, you may well have thought it as just an example of wokeness or of weird language policing. What does it matter what we call it, after all? What matters is what we do about the problem, right?
Now, it is true that sometimes we do have this habit of thinking that if we just change the ways we talk about our problems we can make them go away. That is foolish. Adjustments to language on their own do not change reality.
The Problem with Talking about “the Homeless”
But that shift in language regarding the housing crisis did not come from language police. It didn’t even come from advocates or agencies. The people caught up in housing crisis spoke up about the need for change.
For one thing, the habit of referring to “the homeless” as a problem, a habit that has become very ingrained over the past few years, has a very dehumanizing effect. It makes it too easy to gloss over individuals and families who are just trying to do their best in trying circumstances – to treat them as some nameless mass problem.
Who Makes a Home?
Even more important, though, it is just not accurate. The problem that we have as a society is not actually a lack of homes because developers and landlords and governments don’t sell or rent people homes. I know they may sometimes market them that way because the word “home” carries such positive associations, but all they can provide is housing or shelter. You may buy a house, but only you can make it a home. And you make it into a home with community and family and all your own personal touches.
Turning the place where you are living into a home is something that all humans do, even if they do not have adequate shelter. Somebody these days who is living with their family in a tent may not have a house, but they will make whatever they have, as much as they are able to do so, into a home. That’s why these days you see people living not in isolated tents but in encampments. The shelters may be rudimentary, but by creating some sort of community by pitching tents together, people are doing their best to create a sense of home.
Changing Our Approach
So, a shift in how we talk about the housing crisis is not going to solve the problem. But failing to make that shift may harm some people. Shifting our language may also affect how we approach the problem. It may help us to think about the real individuals and the homes they are doing their best to create. It help us to understand better why people make some of the choices around housing that they do. And it may make us think twice before we come in and tear apart whatever home they have been able to create for themselves.
So how we talk about our problems is not going to fix everything. But it still matters how we talk about them. It affects our approach and can make a real difference in how we think about people and what they are dealing with.
A Powerful Image
The Letter of James uses an image to talk about the power of words that has very much been on my mind as I prepared for this Sunday. “Look at ships:” he writes, “though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, yet 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 exploits.”
So, the tongue is like a rudder. I couldn’t get that image out of my head. Not being an artist, I couldn’t draw a ship with a tongue as a rudder, so I asked an AI program to draw one for me. And then I couldn’t get this picture out of my mind! But maybe I need to keep it in my mind, because I think that what James is saying is very true. In fact, I would like to invite you to imagine your tongue as a rudder that has that kind of power.
The Power of Your Tongue
You have people in your life – your friends, your families and your significant others. You also have people who cross your paths from time to time. And you also have this church and other organizations in your life.
Each one of those people or groups are like ships. They are on a course. They are being pushed forward by the winds of change that affect their lives. And everyone is on a course to build up their own self-esteem, to create a home for themselves and their loved ones or to find a new future. That voyage is not easy for anybody, but we are all working at it.
Setting People Off Course
But did you realize that you, by saying something hurtful, can very easily set that voyage off course. You, with your tongue, can say something that in a moment can undo all of the progress that somebody has made. You don’t need to do it intentionally or even knowingly. Perhaps you are just having a bad day and your let your own feelings of bitterness or disappointment overflow onto them. Perhaps you are not at all upset with them, but just failed to give thought to your choice of words. It doesn’t matter; your tongue can change the course of their voyage.
So, let me give a little bit of practical advice. Before you speak, ask yourself a few questions. Does this need to be said? If it is a criticism, and criticisms do sometimes need to be spoken, is it constructive, or is it something you are saying to make yourself feel superior to someone else? And, if you can, try and take a moment to put yourself in the place of the person you are speaking to and ask yourself how they might hear what you are saying.
The Other Possibility
James is quite right. It is unfortunately very easy to hurt someone with just a word or two. But I would also remind you that the metaphor that he uses, the idea that a tongue is like a rudder, can also work in the other direction. Yes, with a few words, you can set somebody off their course. But do not forget that, with a few words of encouragement and support you can do the opposite.
You can build somebody up. You can encourage someone on their voyage to take charge of their own life. You can let them know that you’re willing to listen and to understand what it is that they are dealing with. Rudders swing both ways. And please do keep that in mind whenever you have the opportunity to speak to someone who might be struggling.
Listen to the Letter of James. We should all think twice when given an opportunity to speak or to teach. But I think it is pretty clear that the upside of being able to say something that encourages and blesses someone on their voyage does make it worthwhile to open your mouth and use your tongue once you have given some careful consideration to what it is that God is calling you to say.