Free Speech is Good Speech

My name is Gabby Gustafson. I'm the Director of Community Connections here at Midtown. If I haven't met you yet, I'd love to connect with you because it's like in my job title or something, but also I just want to connect with you. don't know if you guys are aware, but this past spring a cultural phenomenon occurred. It swept up the country. It swept me up. It swept some of you up because I've had conversations with you about it, but there was a feud that occurred between these two gentlemen, Drake and Kendrick Lamar. There is a series of diss tracks that were dropped, aimed at one another, and we're just going to do a very, very brief overview of what happened, if you don't know what went down, because we could be here all day if we wanted to, but we won't, we won't, I promise. So it all started in 2011. These two collaborate on a subject. It's a song. All is good. All is well. Two years later, Kendrick Lamar is featured on another song in which he disses a whole slew of rappers. Drake just happens to be one of them. Now, later that year, Drake is asked in an interview, what did you think about Kendrick Lamar saying that about you? And he basically is like, I'm fine. I'm not going to let what he said get to me. It doesn't bother me. True. Over the years, they kind of go back and forth. Nothing crazy, nothing notable really to the rest of the country. And then, you know, you go in and out, and you're in this moment, but as you and I met, you know, here we are. We decided that one day, you know, this is going to be the day we all of us get to have a little fun. And so we finally all of a sudden get to have a little bit of fun. And we sort of, like, you know, signed a deal. So, one day in 2017, we go on a trip to Los Angeles. And I can't remember what time, okay, can we go to Los Angeles? And so we go to Los Angeles. And we're there. And we go to Los Angeles in a car. And we're there for like five hours a day. And we're there for like six. So what we can do is, you know, we're going to ride back Yes. So then a little bit later, Drake releases two songs within a week span of each other, almost like he's trying to like poke Kendrick, like, come on, man, do this with me. So then Kendrick releases a song, about 72 hours apart, two songs, 72 hours apart from one another. Drake releases a song, but then like minutes later, like minutes later after Drake releases his song, Kendrick releases a song that feels like it's in response, like somehow he had like inside knowledge that this song was coming and he knew what the song was going to be about. And if you ask me, this of the slew of songs is the most scathing. I cannot share with you what he said, but trust me when I say that this man, that Drake is demolished, in my opinion. And then not even 24 hours later, like less than a day later, Kendrick releases another song that goes on to be a top billboard song and is so catchy and also just has some serious allegations. All of the songs have some serious allegations going on. So then finally, to kind of bring this to a somewhat close, Drake releases another song in response, but it's more on the defense. It's more addressing some of the allegations and denying them. And it isn't quite as, you know, hard hitting. And thus ends the Drake and Kendrick Lamar saga for now. Now, rap battles and diss tracks have been around for a very long time. This is not a unique and new thing to Kendrick Lamar and Drake. They've happened since the beginning of rap recordings and is a part of hip hop culture. It is a part of rap. And another set of rappers will feud in the future, and it'll be equally as wonderful, as this last one was. But to be honest, this isn't exactly how, let's call us non-rapping folks handle our disagreements. When you go into work on Monday, if one of your co-workers has a problem with you, they're likely not going to release a track on Spotify listing all the reasons that they're upset that you microwaved your fish in the break room or, and maybe any of the other ways you've upset them. That's just not the case. So, yeah, I think it's a great way to handle it. It's not how we handle our disagreements and our dislikes with the people in our lives. But we do have some of our own cultural norms for how we handle the people we don't get along with or getting away with saying whatever we like. You might meet some people who say, I just tell it like it is. But really, it's just their excuse for being a jerk. You might meet some people who say, I just tell it like it is. But really, it's just their excuse for being a jerk. You might meet some people who gossip. Or as the youth say, that the tea is piping hot. Spill the tea.

We spread rumors. We lie. We use patronizing language. We're passive aggressive. And sometimes we brag about ourselves as a way of tearing each other down. And if we're honest, the Christian community has their own version of this as well. Have you ever been a part of a prayer time that felt a little bit more like gossip hour? Here's how it might sound. You guys, we really need to pray for Gabby. She's listening to a lot of explicit music. And that's a valid prayer. But what happens is it comes across packaged neatly as we care about this person. We want to pray for them. But what it really is, is just gossip. And it's a lot of explicit music. And it's a lot of explicit music. And it's a lot of explicit music. We have a tendency to drag each other down, whether it's through the use of a rap song or through a prayer. We get to continue on this morning in our sermon series we're calling The Great Con. We're going to be studying the book of James, which is a letter written to the earliest Christian communities to address all sorts of cons that their culture sold them. And we're going to examine how we might push against those same cons that we are being tempted to face. And we're going to be studying the book of James, which is a letter written to as well. And the con that we are going to attempt to squash the belief of this morning is that the con of free speech is good speech. Now, what I mean by that is not that free speech is bad and we need to be monitored and we can't speak freely. That's not what I mean. What I mean is because we have the ability to speak our opinions freely, does that mean our words are good? Are the words that come out of our mouth good? Even though they're free. And what do these spoken words say about us? About our belief systems and even about our faith? James has some fiery words for us, which is a pun that you'll understand after we've read the scripture this morning. But it's in a world where we are constantly encouraged to speak our minds. James reminds us that there is a responsibility that comes with our words. So if you want to follow along with me, we're going to be in James 3. If you don't have a Bible, that is all right. The words are going to be behind me on a screen. We're going to be reading from James 3, starting at verse 1. The word says this. Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistake in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put in bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships. Though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 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. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity, a state of iniquity, and a state of iniquity. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity, The tongue contains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue, a restless evil full of deadly poison. With it 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. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Would you pray with me?

Father, would our tongues speak only of your glory?

Would you shine through in all of our words? Would you heal in the areas that we have caused harm? And would you bring life out of our mouths? Would you speak to us this morning? In your name we pray. Amen. Now James isn't the only place where we can find these kinds of warnings against our tongues, a.k.a. our words. Proverbs 15.2 The tongue of the wise dispenses knowledge, but mouths of fools pour out folly. Proverbs 16.27 Scoundrels, which is a fantastic word by the way, scoundrels concoct evil and their speech is like a scorching fire. Proverbs 18.6.7 The lips of fools burn. Bring them strife, and their mouths invite a beating. The mouths of fools are their undoing, and their lips are a snare to their very lives. Proverbs 18.21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. And then finally, not a proverb found in your Bible, but I'd like to call a millennial proverb. It says this. Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both inflicting injury. And remedying it. Albus Dumbledore in the final Harry Potter movie.

So as we get into what James is saying here, I have three points that we're going to make. The first is that the tongue is accountable. It is powerful, and it is inconsistent. So first, the tongue is accountable. We start out with some super, super encouraging words from James. Not many of you should become teachers. Now I read that, and I was like, do I? Do I just not? Do I not teach? What do I do? No, just kidding. So why would he say that, though? Isn't teaching a good and godly thing, worthy of pursuing? In the early church, teachers were incredibly important. And so the answer of why would James say this actually comes into the second part of that verse. And it says, because we, we, meaning he's wrapping himself up in that, will be judged with greater strictness. James is likely addressing those in the early church, who are seeking the role of teacher, not because they wanted to help new believers come and grow and deepen their faith, but because they wanted the honor that was associated with being a teacher. There are some folks who saw that honor and esteemed position, and so they ambitiously sought it, despite lacking maybe some of the qualifications or the motivations necessary for such a role. And that's not something we see happening today, right? That's only then. We don't see that happening now. No, of course not. Because in verse 2, James says, all of us make many mistakes. Some of your translations may have said that all of us stumble. And that included the teachers of the early church. That included the readers of this letter. That includes myself. That includes us. That we all make many mistakes, and we all stumble. And for the teacher, there is a responsibility, and an accountability that comes with words. And yet, somehow, not a single teacher is perfect. And yet, God still chooses to speak through us. One commentator believes that James is warning that teaching is a dangerous occupation. Dangerous, again, because teachers will be judged with a greater strictness. I think of it. Teachers' greatest instrument is the use of their words. The more words you speak, the more likely something dumb is going to come out of your mouth. The higher the probability that a spark will come flying right out of your mouth and engulf somebody's fields in flames. In other words, to quote Uncle Ben from Spider-Man, with great power comes great responsibility.

Some of you might know this about me, but I'm an army brat. My dad was in the army for 20 years. And we moved around the country. There were some wonderful things about it. I got to live in Germany. I traveled the world. I got to see so many different cultures. But it also came with a lot of really difficult things, too. The most being that I would be separated from my dad for months at a time, sometimes over a year at a time. And we missed him. It was hard not having him in our home with us. There's also the feeling of not really feeling like I was rooted anywhere, which is something I still struggle with to this day. But there was also a difficulty of the weight of being the child of a soldier. You know, what I mean by this is growing up, my dad always told me, you have to be on your best behavior because what you do comes back and reflects on me. And I am an eldest daughter, people pleaser, so I wanted to make sure I was on my best behavior to make sure that my dad never got in trouble because of anything I did. And I was still a teenage. I did teenager. I did teenage things. But for the most part, I wanted to honor what he was asking of me. And I remember as I got older, this message did become stronger. And it was because he had been promoted to a higher rank. And they would tell me, Gabrielle, you have to be on your best behavior because anything you do will go back to my commanding officer. And the message that will be received is if you can't control your family life at home, how can you be trusted to control this platoon? Here. So I love my dad so much. Again, and it was because of that love that I have of him that I wanted to deeply honor and respect him. And I wanted to ensure that my words would always be held accountable. And while my dad had a huge responsibility in his role as a soldier, I, too, had my own responsibilities in my role and in my identity as his child. We, too, with God the Father, in our role and our identity as his children, in our love and our reverence, have an accountability over the use of our tongues. James is speaking this here not as a warning to make you feel fearful. I was afraid of my dad at times, yes. But I was motivated because of my love for him. James is warning us here not to instill fear, but to instill a reverence towards the use of our tongues. James says that our tongues are powerful.

Our tongues are powerful. If they weren't powerful, then they wouldn't need to be accountable. So our second point is that our tongue is powerful. In verses 3 through 5, James uses a series of metaphors. And I am a sucker for metaphors, so I love this part. He uses these metaphors of a bit in the mouth of a horse, which allows us to guide the whole body of the horse. And he says, how a large ship can be guided by a small rudder, wherever the pilot directs, how a forest fire is set by a small spark, a bit, a rudder, and a spark, all three things that are small, yet control a larger object. It is a great irony that something as small as our tongue can have a whole power over our whole body. The words you say can direct your life, in one way or another. But in another sense, that would have to mean that having control of your tongue means that you also have control of your body. That a horseback rider can intentionally lead their horse along a safe path, or if they're out of control of the horse, it can lead them into a path of danger. A pilot can direct a ship away from a collision, as long as their hands are on the wheel and they've got eyes straight ahead. Or they could crash. Titanic, this whole thing. Or, as Smokey the Bear taught us, that only you can prevent forest fires. Recklessness with fire can lead to a forest fire. And so, being wise with the use of our words, the use of our fires, can help to prevent wildfires. If we look back again at verse 2, James says that you keep your whole body in check with the brittle. I think it's, is it brittle or bridle? It is mine. Which is the headgear that the bit is connected to. So meaning that having control over this one piece can help control the whole body. If the tongue has a controlling influence over the whole body, that means that having control gives you an element of self-control in every other area of your life where you feel that you are out of control in. That overall spiritual growth is actually linked in our ability to restrain our tongue. That there is an interconnectedness between the words we use and how we choose to use them and how we are doing in here. That means if it's harder to tame the tongue than anything else, then once the mouth is mastered, all those other areas will be easier to gain a grasp on. Whether it's through your finances or your thoughts or your screen time or your phone usage, I'm really just calling out myself here. But getting a hold of our words will actually help us gain control over all those other things as well.

But James knows that this is an impossible task. Verses 7 and 8 said, For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue. A restless evil full of deadly poison. If you listen closely, it sounds like James is pulling us back to Genesis. When God created man and woman in his image and gave them dominion over the beasts and the reptiles and the sea creatures. And a part of dominion is taming them. Whether it be with a leash or a bit or a gate or a command, animals have been tamed by the human and yet, and yet, the tongue, no human being can tame. It is a restless beast within our mouths. It's a beast that makes you pick up your phone and tweet before you think. To comment on an issue that maybe you don't have the full context or understanding of. To speak harshly to our families. To dishonor our friends behind their back and sometimes to their faces. And even when we want to protect and put it in its place. You know when words are coming out of your mouth and you just wish you could do this with them. We want to tame them so badly and it feels impossible. And James says it's because that the tongue is a restless evil. That there are times when the words we use are actually straight evil. And I think that some of us can think of times when that feels accurate. There's a quote by Jackie Hill Perry that I really love. She says, we really don't have to know what the devil sounds like to recognize his voice. We just have to listen to how we talk to and about our neighbors.

Which brings us to our third point. That the tongue is inconsistent.

Verses 9 and 10. 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. There is a huge disconnect in our worship of God and the way we speak about the people God has made in his image. There's a reason James uses the imagery of a forest fire to make this argument. It's because the damage that the tongue can cause is like that of a forest fire. You probably don't have to dig too far into the recesses of your mind to think of a time that someone's fiery words burned, into your memory. I know that I don't at least. One malicious word can bring about destruction to a life or a community.

This past week in our staff meeting we often go over the scripture for the coming sermon. We read it and we were going over it and Jordan Hoyt, he was sharing about something he had read about plants and how negative talk can affect them. I thought that was really fascinating. So I looked it up and this middle school girl did a school project on this very topic. She wanted to research bullying and so she used plants as her test subject. So she got two of the same exact plants and brought them to school. They had the same watering schedule. They were in the same environment, same everything. The only difference is one of these plants the students in the class were tasked with bullying it. Some of the things that the kids would say, to the plant were, there was like a checklist they had to each daily make sure, make sure you're bullying the plant today. And so some of the things that the kids said to the plant was like, we think you're ugly. Like we hate you. Some of the kids told the plant that they hoped it died.

And it took six days. Six days for this plant and it died. Its leaves withered. She had to bring it home and try and revive it. And the other plant was like, it was totally fine. Nothing was wrong with it. And again, same environment, same water. And this was a plant. How much more will the words that we spew affect the people around us?

We've forgotten, we've forgotten that the people around us are made in the image of God. Because I think that if we remembered that, I don't think that we'd say some of the hurtful things that we say to one another. That if we had that knowledge really deep in us, I don't think that we would. So we've forgotten. And we've forgotten that what we say about those who are made in the likeness of God says a lot about what we actually believe about God. Our tongues are inconsistent little things, flip-flopping between the sweetness of blessings and the poison of cursing. It's what could cause Peter to say, even if I die with you, I will not deny you. And then the very same tongue denied Jesus. It's the same thing that could cause John to say, little children, love one another, and then wish to call down a fire from heaven to blast an entire Samaritan village out of existence. It is an inconsistent thing for us to sing, I need you, Lord. And then to go home and say, I hate fill in the blank. I hate my boss. I hate the people who would dare vote for that person. I hate anyone who believes blank. It is an inconsistent thing.

1 John 4.20 says this, those who say I love God and hate their brothers and sisters are liars. Our issue then is not dealing just with the tongue, but actually with the contents of our hearts. Because it was Jesus who said, it's out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. And if in the heart lies ugliness, then out your mouth comes ugliness. Our words reveal what our hearts hide. The solution isn't just, the solution is not to say, well, I just won't talk then. I'll just stay silent. If I don't say anything, then nothing bad's gonna come out. That's not what James is saying here. He's not saying that silence is better than speech, but is rather pleading for the control of the tongue. Because what kind of world would we live in if we all had control out of these, over these evil little things in our mouths?

Be easy to let our Bible knowledge and our weekly church attendance be sufficient proof of our love of God. But we have to make sure our words and our worship match. If you want to know your heart's posture towards God, then pay attention to the words your tongue produces.

I want to end our time reflecting on a quote by Abraham Heschel. It says that words create worlds. Words create worlds. We read in Genesis that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and he didn't use his hands. He used his hands. He didn't borrow some materials. He didn't ask for help. All God had to do was speak. Let there be light. Words create worlds. And it is true that our tongues are accountable and powerful and consistent little things, and it's also true that we read earlier from Proverb 18 that death and life are in the power of the tongue, and that our words can hurt, but they also have the power to heal. And so what kind of words will flourish out of your tongue? James reminds us there's not one human who can tame the tongue, reminds us that we all make many mistakes, warns us against the disastrous fires that our tongues may pour out. But the good news for us is this, that the same God whose words created worlds, whose word created our world, is the same spirit of that same God that dwells within you. And while you alone in your humanness cannot tame your tongue, it is by the absolute grace of God that life can come out of our mouths as well, that God would invite us to speak life along with him, that he would use us to speak life. We may never perfect it, but we can always pursue it. Your tongue has the power of life, too. Your words, too, can create worlds, so what kind of world will you breathe? Would you pray with me?