Language – Gift, not Weapon

St Timothy Presbyterian Church in Toronto: Sermons

Scripture Passage

James 3:1-12

Worship Video

Worship Audio

Sermon Script

Language is God's precious gift for human beings.

Because we have language, we can communicate with each other.

We can express our sorrow, our joy, our dreams, our appreciation, and our love. How wonderful it is to be able to do that.

My sister came from Korea in August. She doesn't speak much English.

My nephew Peter and Annie invited her for lunch. Annie's mother came out too. She doesn't speak English at all – Only Chinese.

My sister only speaks Korean and Annie's mother speaks only Chinese.

So, they just sat there for the whole time not being able to speak at all. Just look at each other with smile. And just eat.

That's how I survived when I first came to Canada. I was 19 when I came to Canada.

I couldn't speak a word of English. In the bus, people talked to me and I could not understand a word of what they said.

If they smiled, I smiled. If they were serious, I was serious. But I didn't know what they were saying.

Sometimes I get responses from people about the Inner Voice they received.

Somehow the words touched and moved them on that particular day. Simple words lifted them up.

Some time ago, I received an email about the sermon that is on our website. It is somebody I don't know.

He happened to come to our website and listened to the sermon. That particular sermon deeply touched him.

He just came out of prison and tried to live a new life. He said it was hard to do that in this cruel world.

He said the words I spoke helped him tremendously. So, he wanted to thank me.

The sermon title was Dignity in the midst of Humiliation.

Because we have the language, we can experience life more fully.

Our relationships can be deeper. We can express how we feel to each other.

I am sure you all have books, or poems that have affected you profoundly.

God created the world with his word. Jesus is the Word that became flesh.

The language is the greatest gift that God gave to us.

But at the same time, because we have the language, we can hurt each other. We can harm each other.

Our tongue is small but what it can do is enormous. James said the tongue is a fire.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And 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. (James 3;5, 6)

He saw the danger of our tongue.

The most beautiful gift God gave to us can be the most dangerous weapon that can destroy people.

People use the words to curse each other. When we are angry, we are searching for the word that can hurt the most.

Also our tongue is very delicate and very difficult to control.

James knew this characteristic of the tongue when he said,

but no one can tame the tongue a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (James 3:8)

He said because it is so difficult to control your tongue, if you don't make mistakes in speaking, you are perfect.

For 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. (James 3:2)

So, it is very important for us to think about our tongue and use it wisely so that God's most beautiful gift can be used to edify our life and enrich it.

Don't let God's most beautiful gift be used as a weapon that destroys not only yourself but also others.

Let your tongue be an instrument to lift you up and inspire and encourage others not to discourage, disempower, and destroy others.

That is how God wants you to use your tongue.

Your spirituality is very much to do with the way you use your tongue.

I would like to say three things briefly.

1. Don't use your tongue to manipulate others.

That's not why God gave us this beautiful gift.

God gave us this gift to express your love for others, show your appreciation of others, to praise God, and thank God.

Not to manipulate others. When you use your tongue to manipulate others, God's most beautiful gift becomes ugly.

Japanese says that we have three faces.

The first face is the face you show to the world. Your public face.

The second face is the face you show to your family and close friends.

The third face is the face you never show to anyone.

People use language so that they can hide their true self.

People use language to present a false image about themselves and manipulate people's opinions of themselves.

They don't care who they really are; they care more about how others see who they are.

Don't use words to manipulate others. Don't use words to get away with difficult situations.

When you use words to manipulate others or your situations, your words become cheap; Deceptive, Empty, Insincere, Unreal.

That leads us to our second point.

2. Speak from your heart.

Don't say empty words. Say what is in your heart.

Be connected to your soul and speak what's in your soul. Speak who you are. Say what you really mean.

Your words will be connected to you and they will have the power.

Jesus never said empty words. Jesus always spoke from his heart.

When you speak from the heart, people will become connected to what you say.

Because what you say is who you are. There is no discrepancy between who you are and what you say.

Your words become authentic, genuine, sincere, real, and truthful.

Jesus gave us an interesting parable.

A father had two sons. He told them to go out and work in the vineyard.

The first one said no but went out any way. The second one said, yes, I will go, sir. But didn't go.

He just said yes, to get away with the situation.

Empty words have no power. Words by themselves are nothing. There is no energy.

Saying always right thing is not what's important. Saying what is in your heart is what is important.

What you say and who you are should not be disconnected. Don't separate who you are and what you say.

Speak who you are.

When you know what's in your heart, then you can speak clearly, with passion, and energy.

So many people don't know what they are talking about because they don't know their heart.

Take the journey of examining your heart.

When you speak from the heart, you can be connected with others.

Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. (Plato)

When you speak from the heart, you become connected.

3. Know when to speak, what to speak, and how to speak.

Speaking from the heart does not mean speaking from your emotion.

When you speak from emotion, sometimes emotion takes over you and you will say things you will regret later.

Because you will speak without knowing when to speak, what to speak, and how to speak.

For example, when you are really angry, often the anger consumes you and you say what you will regret.

Your emotion of anger takes you over and you cannot know when to speak, what to speak, and how to speak.

Know your heart and speak from the heart.

You will know when to speak and when to be silent. You will know what you need to say. And you will speak with care and love.

Develop the skills of knowing when to speak, what to speak, and how to speak. That is a spiritual discipline.

When you are able to do that, you will become perfect as James said. It is a very high level of spirituality a human being can achieve.

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