judged with greater strictness.
Jas 3:2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is
a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
Jas 3:3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole
bodies as well.
Jas 3:4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are
guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
Jas 3:5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is
set ablaze by such a small fire!
Jas 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our
members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on
fire by hell.
Jas 3:7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been
tamed by mankind,
Jas 3:8 But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
Jas 3:9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the
likeness of God.
Jas 3:10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to
be so.
Jas 3:11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?
Jas 3:12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt
pond yield fresh water.
The dangers of teaching
Jas 3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach
will be judged with greater strictness.
I think that James is touching on a fine line here. He is saying that being a teacher is a very dangerous position. It is dangerous because people teach out of correcting and informing other people. But many men teach out of arrogance. They cast judgment on all others and begin to look down on people. Then their teaching subject reflects the way they view everyone else.
Mat 23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
Mat 23:2 "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat,
Mat 23:3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you--but not what they do. For they preach, but do
not practice.
Mat 23:4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they
themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
Mat 23:5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their
fringes long,
Mat 23:6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues
Mat 23:7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.
Mat 23:8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Jesus here teaches that instead of striving to be teachers, we should teach with the humility and spirit of learners; not to censure one another, as if all must be brought to our standard. We have one teacher, we are just messengers. No one is wise on his own or better than anyone else. James continues with this idea.
The dangers of teaching
Jas 3:2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
James wants us to know that we are to strive to be Christians who are not only messengers of what is right, but we are also to practice what we teach. If our conscience doesn’t war against what we tell others to do, we have attained a level of maturity that is precious and rare. It means that we are able to bridle or have control over what we do on the same level of what we profess.
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