“The tongue is a fire”

In January, New York Times columnist David Brooks argued that “America is falling apart at the seams.” Hours spent driving are down, but traffic fatalities are up, as are classroom infractions, altercations with service people such as flight attendants, and threats against public officials. America is awash in anger.

Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony showed the same thing we’ve seen in our businesses and neighborhoods but now displayed, literally, onstage. First, host Chris Rock told a cruel joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s medical hair loss. Next, her husband, mega-celebrity Will Smith, strode up to the stage, slapped Rock, and then let loose with a string of obscenity-ridden rage-fueled invectives. What teachers, flight attendants, pastors, nurses, and retail clerks have experienced below the radar screen was now on the TV screen for all to behold. Right then, finally, a seam popped in front of tens of millions of people.

This outburst jarringly contrasted with the carefully groomed presentation of the Oscars, which were meticulously produced, scripted, perfectly lit, and organized. The most beautiful people in the world (at least on the outside) are painted and adorned by artists and designers at the top of the glamor industry. Swarms of publicists buzzed around their stars to protect and promote their brand at all costs. And then, suddenly, human nature showed up, and a respected actor lost control, not just of his brand but of himself.

Brooks admits in his editorial he has no idea what’s going on. I believe him. He doesn’t know, but James, the brother of Jesus, does know and tells us what is going on: “The tongue is a fire.”

Social media parted like the Red Sea to one side or the other. Rock’s defenders asked if we can still take a joke. On the other hand, Smith’s defenders portrayed him as a medieval knight defending the honor of his (inconveniently polyamorous) damsel. But both sides fail to see the big picture. We live in a time of fiery speech, and impassioned speech can lead to violence. Defenders of Chris Rock remind us that he is known as an edgy comedian, as if that makes everything OK. But the problem with edgy comedy is that anything that depends on continuing to push the edge runs the risk of going over it. “The tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!” (James 3:5). The verbal forest fire is well underway. But what starts with words ends with actions eventually spilling out into physical violence: “From whence come wars and fightings among you?” (James 4:1).

In his upcoming commentary on James, Wisdom for Dissidents, Jeff Meyers argues persuasively that James is writing in a time of deep social division with escalating rhetoric and actual violence. In other words, talk about wars, battles, and murder is not merely a colorful metaphor for disputes about what color to make the new church carpet. In the time between Jesus’ ascension and the destruction of the Temple, Jerusalem was also coming apart at the seams. This stands as a warning to our nation.

After the altercation at the Oscars, actor Denzel Washington counseled Smith, “At your highest moment, be careful—that’s when the devil comes for you.” That was a rare moment of wisdom in a world of iniquity, and it also aligns with James, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7). It’s as simple and as difficult as that. The only answer to a social contagion of toxic speech is a contagious outbreak of resistance to the devil. This starts with acknowledging the Biblical truth that words matter. Control of speech is not just etiquette, nor is it merely private. Like a forest fire, it takes on a life of its own.

Jesus warned us in the Sermon on the Mount that such speech is already on the way to murder, and murder is on the way to Gehenna. James wrote a letter, a tract, to Christians calling on them to abstain from all that, resist escalation, and offer an alternative. Jerusalem did not take what James offered, martyring him instead. But those warnings are relevant to us as well, and that offer still stands to “bridle” our tongue and help others do the same. “Who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:20).