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Sticks, stones, and tongues James 3:1-12 Sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words will never hurt me. Was anything ever less true than that saying?  What utter nonsense. The person who made that up must have lived the life of a hermit. Now I love words, all kinds of words. The theatre, where I spent most of my life, is all about words, about language – about those sounds formed by our mouths and our tongues. I have directed plays which use what for some folks are ‘dirty’ words, ones which cause offense to some hearers. For me, those are just words – no more, no less. Not to promote the use of ‘dirty’ words in any way, I would offer the opinion that the most offensive and hurtful words which emanate from people’s mouths are in fact not ‘dirty’ at all. They’re not four-letter or profane words, but instead are words which inflict real and lasting pain.  The letter of James observes that while the tongue is quite small, it possesses incredible powers. It has the ability to set major ‘fires’ and cause endless suffering. But no one can tame the tongue – a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (v. 8)  [Editorial comment: does that make the tongue somewhat analogous to the rattle snake?] You get the picture, right? We all know what James is telling us. There is not a one of us who has not been hurt by the tongues and words of others, including members of our families and our church families. Not only  that, I will go so far as to say that each of us has, at some time, used our tongue and our words to inflict damage upon others! From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. (v. 10) Words do not require great physical strength or size, can be as easily produced by male and female, and drip off our tongues and fly through the air with the greatest of ease. I know that at times my mouth runs ahead of my brain, and those are times I could benefit from being more tongue-tied, to stifle, put a padlock on it, keep my tongue between my teeth and be silent as a post. Perhaps you can identify with that?  So here’s a word to the wise. If we as Christians want to be taken at our word as the people who seek to live out the Word of God, we are well advised to bridle our tongues and listen for God saying to us: Peace, be still – and know that I am God. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.  - Pastor Piet - September 17, 2006