James 3:1-12 (NRSV)
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Chapter 3Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. Verse 2For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. Verse 3If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Verse 4Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. Verse 5So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! Verse 6And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. Verse 7For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, Verse 8but no one can tame the tongue-a restless evil, full of deadly poison. Verse 9With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. Verse 10From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Verse 11Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Verse 12Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.
Devotion
This summer we became boat owners. The new (to us, at least) pontoon has become a metaphor for how I think about how I live my life. The boat moves from point A to point B because various parts of the boat are working together. The motor powers the boat forward, the gas powers the motor, the rudder gives direction, and I steer the rudder with the steering wheel. In today’s passage from James, I am reminded of the role ‘will’ plays in my life. I have the choice to bless or curse. God’s will for my life is that I learn deeply how to love and be loved. This is
what drives my life forward in life-giving ways. As I learned the simple task of turning the wheel of the boat, I discerned direction.
Prayer
Loving Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of direction. Continue to guide and direct us in ways of loving and being loved in accordance with your will. Amen.