If ya can’t say sump’n’ nice . . .| Devotion by Pastor Tim Smith

James 3:5-10   So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! 3:6 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.
3:7 For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 3:8 but no one can tame the tongue--a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 3:9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God.
3:10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.

In this coming Sunday’s epistle lesson we read just how much damage our words can do.  We don’t have to look very far in the wake of our two major political parties’ conventions to see the biting and divisive power of harsh words.  We have all said things we wish we hadn’t.  In verse 10 above, James cuts to the chase and simply exhorts us, “Be careful what you say!  Don’t curse any of your brothers or sisters made in the likeness of God!”  And you thought Thumper in the old Disney movie Bambi was being original in reciting his mom’s rule, “if ya can’t say sump’n’ nice, don’t say nuttin’ at all!”

The following parable’s origin isn’t clear perhaps because it is told in various forms in many cultures over the course of centuries to emphasize how important it is to be careful with our words.  I’ve opted for the 19^th-century Jewish version:

A man went about town slandering his rabbi. One day, realizing that many of the things he had said were unfair, he went to the rabbi's home and begged for forgiveness. The rabbi told the man that he would forgive him on one condition: that he go home, take a feather pillow from his house, cut it up and scatter the feathers to the wind. After he had done so, he should then return to the rabbi's house.

Though puzzled by the rabbi's strange request, the man was happy to be let off with so easy a penance. He quickly cut up the pillow, scattered the feathers, and returned to the rabbi.

"Am I now forgiven?" he asked.

"Just one more thing," the rabbi said. "Go now and gather up all the feathers."

"But that's impossible. The wind has already scattered them."

"Precisely," the rabbi answered. "And though you truly wish to correct the evil you have done, it is as impossible to repair the damage done by your words as it is to recover the feathers."

PRAYER:  Guide our minds and guard our tongues, O Lord.  Make us slow to criticize and eager to bless, compliment, and encourage.  We pray in Christ’s name.  Amen.