The Tongue and the Tele . . .
Humans like to talk. From our earliest days, we are encouraged to talk--- “Say dada, say mama.” Our first words were unintelligible, “goo-goo – ga-ga.” Still, folk try to translate, he said . . . she said . . .. Once we learn to talk, we seem unable to stop.
A parishioner was excitedly telling me (a fellow cyclist) of his motorcycle trip. He rode hundreds of miles, much of it in freezing drizzle. He got most excited when I asked, “What was the best part of the trip? He answered, “Sitting around the fire at night talking.” Talking? I could not believe it.
The Biblical book of James compares talk to fire. Fire is a two-edged sword. It can cook your food or char it. It can warm your house or wipe it out. A single spark can destroy an entire forest. I watched a forest fire on television. The flames rose higher than the trees. Right before my eyes, tongues of fire reached out and devoured the trees. One moment they were there, and in a few seconds, they were gone. Having never witnessed a real forest fire, I could not believe my eyes. James says it is the same with our speech; a single misspoken word can do everlasting damage.
By now you may be thinking, “I know all that. Why are you telling me?” I hear you. I do not wish to belabor these truths, but two matters lead me to these words.
1 . We are in the political season. (It seems that season never ends). Folk get so fired up about their politics they sometimes write and say things that are unchristian and will destroy friendships forever. Political convictions, no matter how right you think you are, do not give you permission to speak as an unbeliever.
2. When James wrote his letter, words were spoken one to one, face to face. Transmission of bad messages was limited and slow. Not so today. When you send an email or write on Facebook, that message may be heard or read by hundreds of people.
n our modern society, we have devised instruments that help us talk: telephone, television, telegraph, tell-a-friend (Facebook). Before you use these new instruments of speech, remember the words of the ancient rabbis, “Three things come not back: the spent arrow, the lost opportunity, and the spoken word.”
