Blessing or Curse? 

God on Monday
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‘With the tongue we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing…this ought not to be so’
(James 3.9-10) 

Reflection

Let us start this week by thinking about our words. Through your work, do you encounter boasting, scoffing, flattery, sarcasm, vindictiveness, deceit, gossip or slander? If so, are you drawn in? 

James likens the power of the tongue to the bit in the mouth of a horse or a small rudder on a great ship. Both are relatively small parts but they determine the direction of the whole.

We may try to downplay the impact of what we say. But James recognizes the tongue as powerful, dangerous and destructive. It is also, quite literally, perverse - it can be used to heal or to poison, to bless or to curse.

The tongue reveals the heart. If we harbour impatience, envy or resentment in our hearts, our tongue will eventually voice them. It is poised to spoil the good fruit we may have taken years to nurture. Stretching the truth to enhance our own image is all that is needed for the rot to set in.

James goes on to ask the rhetorical question ‘Can a fig tree yield olives, or a grapevine figs?’ (v.12). Our tongue is designed to bear witness to God’s love in our hearts and to share that love with God’s image-bearers. When bridled through the workings of God’s Word and Spirit, it can produce a harvest of good fruit. And it can steer us, and those around us, into the ways of wisdom and peace. 

Response

Keep track of your words for one whole morning or afternoon this week. Note which words bless, and which words demean people made in God’s likeness. Note which words express grace and which express fear and judgment.

Consider what was going on in your heart when you spoke these words. Do you find a passionate love for God and a trust in God’s goodness? Or do you find the ambition to serve yourself, rather than the people with whom God has connected you?

Prayer

Thank you, Father, that your Word speaks into our work and reminds us of our need for new hearts, redeemed by your Son. Grant us trust in your love and sovereignty, so that we might bear good fruit, even in the simplest of conversations and interactions. Bridle our tongues so that we are better ambassadors—in all we do—of your love, grace and goodness. Amen.

This Week's Author

Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work.

God on Monday is produced in partnership with the Church of England. The reflections are based on the scriptural readings designated for the next Sunday in the Church's lectionary. You can sign up here to receive each God on Monday instalment.

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