James 3:1-2, Not many should become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment, 2 for we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a mature man who is also able to control his whole body.
These two verses are intimidating to me. James is reminding me that if I set myself up as a teacher, I will receive a stricter judgment. Why? Because teachers should know what they are talking about. Our society tends not to question but simply ingest information. Teachers have a responsibility to make sure that information is correct by doing the research and studying. Although this verse is talking about the scriptures, we can align this idea with other areas of teaching. If we have established ourselves as a teacher on a subject, we need to be knowledgable and have done the research. As Christians, we are called to excellence and setting ourselves apart; I think it should be in this area as well. No shortcuts, do the work so that you can teach with excellence.
Controlling the tongue is a sign of maturity
Yes, we all stumble! Jesus was the only perfect man who was mature and able to control his whole body. We are not, but we strive toward maturity. Remember, yesterday, we discussed holding the tongue? Why is controlling the tongue a sign of maturity? When our desire is more about other people and less about ourselves, our words become less careless and critical and more encouraging, controlling our tongue breeds maturity from the heart. And maturity from the heart leads to controlling our whole body.
Dear Lord, as a teacher, I want to be faithful to Your Word, let me do the work to be knowledgeable about what I am teaching on. As I am learning to control my tongue, let my words be encouraging and not critical, and let me recognize the difference. Amen.
The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Jas 3:1–2). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
