With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.
James 3:9-10 (NIV)
Vitriol. That is the word that comes to mind regarding what is frequently being seen and heard on social media, in the news and sometimes first hand as we move about our own local communities.
Vitriol: violent hate and anger expressed through severe criticism1
It saddens me to see the vitriol being spewed so nonchalantly in today’s society. I remember those days when one kept such thoughts to themselves or shared them only with their intimate social circle of like minds. But not today. Freedom of speech has been taken to a new level as saying what you feel or believe even if it hurts or maligns others is now regarded as a celebrated liberated right by many. It doesn’t seem to matter anymore if what is being said is true or not. But this sadness deepens when this behavior is becoming par for the course for those who are instructed by God to “not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up…” (Ephesians 4:29 NIV).
Can the same tongue that praises God and professes to be a follower of Christ spew words of hate, sow seeds of discord, spread falsehood, malign the character of others and hurl words to devalue another human being? Unfortunately yes and it is becoming more prevalent as the church looks more like the world and less like Christ. But such contradictory behavior is not something new as James spoke out against this very behavior in our focal verse.
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. James 3:9-10 (NIV)
The “praise God on Sunday, curse on Monday” seems to be unfortunately a growing trend among some believers when it comes to how they view and treat others. Throughout the word of God, we are encouraged to treat others how we would want to be treated even when we are wrongly treated by them (see Luke 6:3, Mark 12:31, Romans 12:17-21). But the Golden Rule and the Loving Our Enemies sermons are long forgotten by some believers who have instead turned to very hateful and hurtful ways to deal with those who differ from them in race, language, beliefs, culture, and nationalities. Even within the Christian faith, we have believers engaged in these same non Christ-like behaviors towards fellow believers for a variety of reasons. This post is not about pointing fingers at others but about self-reflection on whether we are engaged in this dual life of praising and cursing that does not align with the life of Jesus Christ.
Here are some questions we can ask ourselves to determine how close or how far we are from the behavior referenced in James 3:9-10:
- Am I living in a manner pleasing to God or looking more like the world?
- Am I engaging in hateful and hurtful behavior towards those who are different from me and/or have different views from me?
- Do I treat those different from me as if they are less than me?
- Do I seek to malign others to make myself look better and to justify my beliefs and actions?
- Do I seek to intentionally publicly humiliate those I disagree with whether it be about doctrine, lifestyle choices, political affiliations, religion, or any other matter?
Taking these same questions, let’s consider what the word of God instructs us to do:
| Questions | What does the word of God say? |
| Am I living in a manner pleasing to God or looking more like the world? | … offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God… Do not conform to the pattern of this world… (Romans 12:1-2) |
| Am I engaging in hateful and hurtful behavior towards those who are different from me and/or have different views from me? | Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up. (Ephesians 4:29) But love your enemies, do good to them… (Luke 6:35) For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. (Matthew 25:35) |
| Do I treat those different from me as if they are less than me? | Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Philippians 2:3-4) |
| Do I seek to malign others to make myself look better and to justify my beliefs and actions? | Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. (Ephesians 4:29) But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. (Colossians 3:8) |
| Do I seek to intentionally publicly humiliate those I disagree with whether it be about doctrine, lifestyle choices, political affiliations, religion, or any other matter? | Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults… (Colossians 3:12-13) If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you… But if they will not listen, take one or two others along… If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church… (Matthew 18:15-17) |
Clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness. These characteristics of God’s holy people do not harmonize with vitriol as “blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth.” As James succinctly says at the end of this verse: “Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!”.
Let’s consider carefully the word of God to ensure we are treating our fellow “human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness”, in ways that are pleasing to our Heavenly Father and are also similar to how we would want others to treat us.
Considerations 