Watch Your Mouth (James 3)

Our words have the power to build up or tear down—and James 3 doesn’t hold back. In this episode of Gospel to Go, we’re diving into one of the most convicting chapters in Scripture as we talk about taming the tongue, the danger of careless speech, gossip, criticism, and why what comes out of our mouths reveals what’s happening in our hearts. If you’ve ever struggled to “watch your mouth,” react in anger, or speak life instead of negativity, this conversation is for you. Let’s discover how God can transform not just our words, but the heart behind them.

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Buckle up besties. We are back in our Bibles. Hello. Hi, good morning. Happy Friday. Welcome back to Gospel2go. I'm your host, Dana. Dana Cunningham now. Um, and I am just so happy and I feel so blessed to have you here with me on this stunning, beautiful Friday morning. Yes, um, as you may guess, I'm late per us. Guys, another crazy week. But you know what? Nevertheless, I will be here on Friday mornings. I promise. Even if I'm recording this in practically live time, it's 7:44. So this is not going up 8 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. However, you will get it. You will, I promise. And that's okay. I'm not perfect. I'm not perfect. Oh. I put my dog in a bed stay. Uh-uh-uh-uh. No. Oh boy. Oh boy. Hold on. Oh, you're really no, we're not gonna eat the Bible. Okay, okay. So here's what happened. I put my dog in what's called a bed stay. If you guys listened to my latest episodes, he went away to summer camp, as we called it. It was a four-week board and train while we were at like our wedding honeymoon preparing for the wedding, etc. And I am so glad we did it. Literally, best money ever spent. He's so good. Um, well, I feel like I'm contradicting myself, which is funny, because we're gonna talk about that a little bit today. Um, but no, he he will go into his bed, and then his word to come out is okay. And I said that, and he looked at me, and I looked at him, and I was like, uh-oh. And then he came barreling towards me, and I was sitting on the couch. So I have moved, he's laying down, all is fine. It is well. Okay, it is well. Do you guys know that song by Patrick Mayberry? It is well. Oh, that is such a good song. It's like, it is well with my soul. Oh my god, it's so good. You guys should listen to it if you haven't. Add it to your worship playlist. Okay, today we're going over James 3. I don't want to rush this podcast episode, but also this is a pretty short chapter. Um, and we're gonna talk a little bit about the tongue. I know that sounds a little wacky, wackadoodle, but it's actually something that's so important. Our mouths are so important, and this is something that I really need to practice because I am so I'm working really hard on not being so like negative. Um, as you guys know, I'm a very anxious person, and I let those thoughts sort of overtake like the positivity that I know is the truth, right? I'm sitting here in front of a book with 2,400 something pages. Okay, like we know that the truth exists, it's out there, praise God, and I'm letting my negative thoughts override that, and that is not fair. It's not fair to me, my soul, it's not fair to God, it's not fair to the people around me. So, chapter three in James is called Controlling the Tongue. Um, if you guys are just starting out here, welcome. We are going over James. So James has five chapters. Not sure what's happening after we're done with James, but I really, really do um want to, you know, ride through some of these books together with you guys. I think um, you know, it's fun to like talk and catch up and talk about other little things. And I I promise to still do that. I know that that kind of helps keep it real, um, which I promise I'll always be super real with y'all. But I do want to focus on like actually reading the Bible, you know. I feel like that's what the world needs more of. And even if it's not like always sharing wisdom, because I think sometimes I get really caught up in like, okay, well, what's gonna be the message? What do I have to get out? What do I have to share? Like, what is God putting on my heart in to interpret this verse? And you know what? Sometimes all we have to do in order to spread the gospel, spread the word, is to just read it, share verses, read it because everybody interprets it differently. And it's not really my job. Like, I feel like for months and months and months, I feel like it was my job to help interpret the Bible, and that isn't my job. You know what whose job that is? The Holy Spirit. So it's your job to read, and it's the Holy Spirit's job. Well, it's your job to let the Holy Spirit come and intercede. But the Holy Spirit will tell you what it is that you need to gain or learn from that specific verse. So I encourage you guys to read along with me. If you can't, that's why I do this podcast. I think this is fun. I can read it to y'all while you're like walking, grocery shopping, driving, whatever it is, okay, doing the dishes, painting your nails. So I can read it to you. And then we can talk about it a little bit, but I want to kind of stray away from interpreting every little thing because I want you guys to learn to do that on your own, right? And I'll always be here to help, to help answer questions, but I really want to like challenge you guys to dig deeper. And so I am going to be shifting. I know I I stink, I don't stink, but I have I said this last week and I haven't done anything about it yet, but know that I'm doing a lot of research and and trying my best to make this. For those of you that follow my Substack, um, I used to do weekly devotionals, and they were just kind of like like I was following certain books, but they were they were just like it felt kind of random, I feel like. And I know you guys really love them. I I honestly loved them too, but I want to create something that's coinciding with the podcast so you guys can kind of like listen and and Bible study. Like I want this to feel like a legitimate Bible study. So each week, I'm hoping I can start it this Sunday, and then hopefully release them like every Friday with the podcast. That would be my goal, my dream. So we're gonna get there. We're gonna get there, but bear with me, I appreciate your guys' patience. I'm gonna have sort of like a work, not a workbook, but not a worksheet. I don't know if it's gonna be a couple pages, but basically it's going to be like, okay, this is the chapter we read today. It'll have reflection questions and like key verses and a little bit more of like the dissecting part of it so that you guys can kind of follow along and like answer these questions and dig deeper internally for yourself, like and make it unique. I hope that that makes sense. So let's get into it. James 3, per usual, I'm reading out of my favorite, favorite Bible. It is the Life Application Study Bible from Hosanna Revival, code Dana. We'll get your money off, and I will link it, of course, in the show notes. Um, I read from, like I said, a life application study Bible, and it is my saving grace. It really helps sort of break down like a lot of the verses that I'm reading and gives me a little more insight. And I I am so grateful for this Bible. I absolutely love it. So in James 3, again, if you're just catching in, tuning in, catching up, whatever, we read James 2 last week and James 1 on the season two debut a couple weeks ago. So um I'd suggest going back and reading the or listening to those as well. They're a little bit longer episodes, but if you want to start here, that's fine. That's fine wherever God calls you to go. All right. James 3 is called Controlling the Tongue, that is the title. I'm gonna read it to you and then we'll talk a little bit about this. So the main theme here, you guys, if you can't tell, is speech. When our speech is motivated, motivated by Satan, it's full of like bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, earthly concerns, and earthly like wants and desires, unspiritual thoughts and ideas, disorder, and just plain evil. God and his wisdom, when our speech is motivated by God and his wisdom, okay, it's full of mercy and love. Love for ourselves, love for others, love for our enemies, okay. Peace, consideration for others, submission, sincerity, and imp imparti impartial impartiality. Why can I never say that word? Okay, we're skipping righteousness. Hey, I'm not perfect, I'm not a perfect vessel for the Lord, but I'm here. I'm here, and I and I will read to you and I will do my very best. Speaking of being imperfect, I keep having this like scab on my face. I have two scabs on my faces from pimples. I'm breaking out so bad right now, and I can't stop picking it. Somebody yell at me. Somebody comment right now and tell me to stop doing that. Okay, controlling the tongue. Open up, let's go. I'm an NLT, so it might be different if you're reading a different version. But nevertheless, we read. So, dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. What? Did I not just talk about two of those things? I'm blind reading this, by the way, if you can't tell, because I'm late. I'm always late. It's fine, it's just who I am. I'm working on it. Um, but I I really like, did I not just talk about both of those things? Like, thank you, God. This is how God intercedes, and I think it's just so flippin' cool. I just talked about how not all of us should be like teachers in the church, and how I feel like I should really like stray away, right, from like trying to dissect every single thing for you guys, and I should just read. Okay. Wow, okay, then we are not perfect, right? If we didn't make mistakes and we can control our tongues, we would be perfect. And then I just talked for five minutes about how I'm not perfect. Okay. Anyway, picking back up, we can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth, and a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. Okay, grand speeches. Every time something comes out of your mouth, it has power. And I want you guys to understand that no matter if it's positive, negative, and anxious thought, we should really be learning to control our tongues. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. If it I'm sorry, it can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. Do you guys remember last week when I talked about how important it is? Oh, I want to pause really quick and thank you guys for something. Sorry. Wouldn't it be cool if I could just get through this and read it? No. No, we have to go on side quests. If you're new here, welcome. We go on side quests a lot. Um last week I talked about the how important it is because there were two main themes in two who remembers. Who remembers? Okay, great, good job. Faith without good deeds is dead. Okay, and a warning against prejudice. Yeah. Okay. So I talked a lot about how, above all else, God calls us to love one another. And I went on a huge rant. A huge rant. And I posted that podcast and I was like panicking for like a day and a half. And everyone was like, it's fine, it's fine. Like everyone in my life, I'm like, okay, wait, I'm kind of panicking. I didn't even listen back to it because I was like, I know that I'll delete it. And like I don't want to do that. I feel like someone like will understand what I'm saying. And I got so many kind messages from you guys. So thank you so much for bearing with me. All of you picked up what I was putting down. And I rambled a lot, and it's okay. Like, I just want to tell you guys, like, just thank you so so much for being here with me and like through all of it. Because I do a lot of jumbling, rumbling, rambling, jumping around, bop, bop, bop, ping-ponging. Um, and yeah, I think above all things, we should love one another. And this is what I feel like like this definitely sort of comes along with that. Sometimes our tongues curse those who have been made in the image of God. We gotta watch that. Every single person that you come in contact with is somebody that God created and loves and knew before you knew them, before they knew themselves, before their parents knew them. Like, God loves you. And when you understand how much God loves you, I don't think we'll ever fully understand, but when you start to really like grasp, start to grasp that concept, and you think about that's how he loves everyone, you're you'll shift a little bit in how you started training people. That is the work of God, that's power of the God, power of God. Okay, and so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right. Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can't draw fresh water from a salty spring. True wisdom comes from God. If you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes with wisdom, comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don't cover up the truth with boasting and lying, for jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. Remember, disorder and evil were two things that your speech is full of and your heart is full of when your speech is motivated by Satan. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace-loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. I know you guys like hearing my dog in the background, but I don't. Just kidding, I love him. I love him. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. That is it. That's James chapter three. Love, love it, love it, love it, love it. Okay, there are two little like tick marks I made while reading. And so I want to read the little spark notes on these. Okay, so let's go back to three verses five. We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth, and a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. Okay, so what we say and what we don't say are both important. To control our speech, we must not only say the right words at the right time, but also rein in our desire to say what we shouldn't. Examples of the sins of an untamed tongue include gossiping, insulting, belittling, bragging, manipulating, teaching what is false, exaggerating, complaining, flattering, and lying. Okay, pause before you speak and ask yourself, is what I want to say true? That is so yeah. Let's start asking ourselves that. I'm a chronic oversharer and I'm somebody who, I'm not proud of it, but I'm somebody who will like literally dig out whatever I can to make like a joke to make people around me like laugh or are happy. I know I'm not the only one, but like, you know, I'm somebody who like I feel like I'll bring up like passage, even if it's making fun of myself. Like, I'll bring up whatever I can to just like crack a joke. It's just like sometimes not necessary at all. Like, one, read the room, two, like, we don't need to joke at all times. We don't need to fill the room with silence. Someone needs to hear this. We don't need to fill silence with words that are so unnecessary just to fill the void of like the silence. It is okay to sit in silence, it is okay to be uncomfortable for a little bit. How about you know what you could do if you're sitting in the car with someone and you're like, this is kind of awkward? Why aren't we talking? That I feel like is what I'm the most prone to start. Like, did you hear about this? Or, you know, is this really happening? Or, you know, crack a joke or say something that you know they might be a little bit like, what is this girl saying? What is this girl talking about? Why don't you, instead of that, instead of bringing up things that are just unnecessary to talk about, pray. Pray in your head instead. Say a little prayer to God. It is actually so fine to be minimal and to like tone it down a second. And I'm like actually talking to myself right now, I promise. So is what I want to say true? Is it necessary? And finally, is it kind? Is it kind? Is it kind? Is what's about to come out of my mouth true, necessary, andor kind? Something to think about. Then I also highlighted 10 through 12, and so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right. Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives or a grapevine produce figs? No. And you cannot draw fresh water from a salty spring. Our own contradictory speech often puzzles us. Sometimes our words are good and pleasing to God, but at other times they're hurtful and destructive. Which of these speech patterns reflects our true identity? That's something to kind of that's like something that I would put in our in our Bible study like companion packet. I don't know what I'm calling it yet. Sometimes our words are good and pleasing to God, but other times they're hurtful and destructive. Which of these speech patterns reflects our true identity? That is something to think about. That's something to really dig within ourselves and journal about, think about, ponder about, really pray about. We were made in God's image, but the tongue is a constant reminder of our sinful nature. Remember, we come from sin. We were born into sin. It is a part of this world because of Adam and Eve. And we're born into it. It's inevitable. Okay, just because we're made in God's image doesn't make any of us perfect. We were all born into sinful nature, and the tongue is a constant reminder of that. God works to change us from the inside out. Kind of how I was just telling you guys. Like once you start understanding and really like grasping how much God really loves you, and you start to open your heart to that and feel that truly deeply within you, you will understand just how much he loves one another. Our friends, our family, care, our brothers and sisters in Christ, our enemies. He loves us all just like that. I'm so sorry if you can hear my. I mean, seriously, he's just like picking, he has to have three bones in his mouth at once, and then he's like slamming them on the hardwood floor. Maybe you can't even hear it. Um, and so if you allow him to work within you, truly you can change. You can change that. You can control, you can start to control your tongue. So God works to change us from the inside out. When the Holy Spirit works in our hearts, he gives us self-control so that we can speak words that please God. Ask God to stop bitter water from coming out of you and replace it with the refreshing water of the Holy Spirit. I love that. Let's read it again. Ask God to stop bitter water from coming out of you and replace it with the refreshing water of the Holy Spirit. Just love it. I love that one. Um, that's a good, that's a good prayer to have, for sure. For sure. And then after controlling the tongue, we go into a little bit of genuine wisdom. So true wisdom comes from God. Have you ever known anyone who claimed to be wise but acted foolishly? That's kind of me sometimes, honestly. I'll be like, yeah, I know my I know my Bible verses, I know my Bible verses, and I love to talk about God. I love Jesus, I love him so much, and I love to talk about him, and I love to pray. But I still act like a fool. I still act like a fool, and God has changed me for sure. I'm better than I was. Praise, amen. I'm better than I was, but no, I can still be such a fool sometimes. True wisdom can be measured by the depth of a person's character. Just as you can identify a tree by the type of fruit it produces. We love this. We love the fruit tree. We love this analogy. Just as you can identify a tree by the type of fruit it produces, you can evaluate your wisdom by the way you behave. Foolishness leads to disorder. Again, another thing from evil Satan, but wisdom leads to peace and goodness. Are you tempted to escalate conflict, pass on gossip, or fan the fire of discord? Careful, winsome speech and wise, loving words are the seeds of peace. God loves peacemakers. There's a verse in Matthew, chapter 5, verse 9. God loves peacemakers. Really quick. So Matthew 5.9 says, God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. Matthew 5 9 is also cited in relation to James 3.18. So James 3.18 is the very last verse of this chapter, and those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. So James was known as a peacemaker, and he stresses the importance of peace. Believers should create a climate of peace wherever they are. Go. Jesus promised that God will um bless peacemakers. Again, that was we just read that, Matthew 5, 9. Whenever you help make peace, you'll be rewarded by seeing relationships reconciled between people in conflict with one another and between people and God. Again, peace, as someone with heavy, crazy, out-of-control anxiety sometimes. It's very important for me to work on peace. And that is something that I'm working on. And I hope that you guys are too. And I hope that I did not pray you guys in, so I'm gonna pray you out. I'm so sorry. Hi, ayi, aye, all over the place this morning. You know what? I didn't have my coffee. That's why I can't wait to make my coffee. I'm gonna make it after this. You guys come first, okay? Um, but then that you know comes with consequences because here we are all over the place. But yeah, I hope that that spoke to you today. Controlling the tongue, working on our piece, drawing close to God and his wisdom. And um, and I'm excited. I'm excited for for what's to come. I'm excited to keep reading James. I really love this book, guys. I really do. And I've heard some really good things about James, and I've heard some really good like feedback from you guys. I know you guys are loving it too. So please don't ever hesitate to message me on Instagram. I love I love reading your Instagram messages after you listen to the pod. Please don't be silent. Don't be a silent listener. Please, like DM me on Instagram, tell me what you think, tell me what you learned, tell me what you want to talk about. I'm here. Okay. I love talking about Jesus. I love it. So I'm gonna let y'all go. I know this was a shorter episode this week, but it was just a shorter chapter. And nothing really new to update with you guys. How long is four? Let's see. Four is a little bit, maybe a little bit longer. Four is like the same size as two. So we'll have a good one next week. I'm excited, I'm pumped. So, anywho, um, yeah, I'm gonna let you guys go. Ah! I hope you guys have a fantastic, fantastic weekend. Be safe, make smart choices, say your prayers. Let's pray together right now. If you are somewhere safe, bow your head, close your eyes. If not, keep doing what you're doing. But lock in. We're praying to our Father. Lord Jesus, thank you so much for this beautiful, stunning, wonderful day. Thank you for this platform that I get to speak to my friends and family in Christ on the other side of the pod. I am so happy that you brought them here today. I am so happy for this opportunity and so grateful. Our all-knowing and loving God, you are so, so good. No matter what it is we are going through, whether it's something positive or negative, you remain good. And I pray that my friend on the other side can see that, can hear that, and knows how much you love them. Lord, you're so wonderful. This is the day the Lord has made. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice, let us be glad, let us praise him. Lord, I'm just so, so grateful for you. Thank you for thank you for everything. I pray that my friend on the other side has a fantastic day. I pray that they have a fantastic weekend. I pray for their health and safety and the health and safety of their friends and family members. Let them know that you are with them, that you love them, that you are good at all times. All times, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. What a day. Alrighty. Friends, go in peace. I love y'all. I love y'all so much. And I will see you. Well, hopefully, I'll see you on my DMth. So we can chitty chatty. Chit chat. Chit chat about God. I love it. Okay. Letting y'all go. Have a fantastic weekend and upcoming week. Be safe. I love you, and Jesus loves you.