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The Letter of James 3

3 My fellow believers, most of you should not desire to become teachers of God’s word. As you know, God will judge us teachers more severely than he will judge other people. 2 I will tell you why most of you should not become teachers. All of us often do things that are wrong. But if anyone is able to avoid saying things that are wrong, he has become the person God intends him to be. He will be able to control all of his actions as well. 3 To illustrate, we can put a small metal bar into the mouth of a horse and use it to make the horse go where we want it to go. When we do that, we can direct the horse’s large body just by means of that small device. 4 Think about ships too. A ship may be very large and the winds that propel it forward may be very strong. Even so, by using a tiny rudder, the pilot can direct the ship wherever he wants it to go. 5 Similarly, although our tongues are very small, we use them to brag that we have done great things. Note also that a fire that starts as a small flame can burn up many trees.

6 Just as a fire burns a forest, when we say bad things, we hurt many people. What we say reveals that there is much evil within us. When we say bad things, this contaminates all that we think and do. It can ruin our whole life. It is Satan himself who influences us to speak what is evil. 7 To give another example, people have been able to tame a wide variety of wild animals, birds, reptiles, and animals that live in the water. 8 But no one can control the things he says. The things people say are like a dangerous creature that never stops killing people with its venom. 9 We use speech to praise God, who is our Lord and Father. But we also use speech to say that we want bad things to happen to people. That is very wrong, because God made people like himself. 10 Someone may use his speech to praise God. But then he will use that same speech to wish that bad things would happen to people. My fellow believers, this should not happen! 11 Surely good-tasting water and bad-tasting water do not come from the same source! 12 My fellow believers, a fig tree cannot produce olives. And a grapevine cannot produce figs. Nor can a salty source produce good water. Similarly, we should speak only what is good, and we should not speak what is evil.

13 If any of you are very understanding, you will demonstrate that by living your life properly. Being wise leads us to act gently toward others. 14 But if inwardly you grudgingly resent other people and you think you are more important than they are, you should not claim to be wise. That would be saying that what is false is actually true. 15 People who are envious and selfish are not wise as God wants them to be. Instead, they are thinking and acting like people who do not respect God. They are following their own evil desires. They are doing what demons would do. 16 We can tell that people who are resentful and selfish are not wise, because they do not control themselves. They take part in many different sinful activities. 17 But the person whom God has taught to be wise is, first of all, morally pure. Such a person also makes peace with others. He is kind to them and gets along with them well. He is generous to people who do not deserve it, and he does practical things to help others. He does not favor one person over another, and he does not pretend to be something that he is not. 18 When people work quietly to help others get along, they can help those others to have good relationships.

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