Controlling the Tongue
The author of this report has been asked to answer some important questions as it relates to the third chapter of James. Specifically, the first twelve chapters of that chapter. The questions that shall be answered about the passage will include the historical/grammatical background of that passage, when/where the book was written, who wrote it, the purpose of the passage, what the book of James is about in general, in what form was it written, the meanings of some of the important words in the passage, what the passage means to the original audience, the cultural significance of the passage and the personal application of the passage. While all people stumble and sin at some point, it is almost never unnoticed when it is a teacher that does it.
Analysis
The passage gets straight to the point in the very first verse when it notes that not everyone is cut out to be a teacher due to the fact that the miscues and sins of every man are further scrutinized and condemned when the person in question is a teacher. To put this in its proper and grammatical context, one can easily see that this passage is speaking of the Pharisees and other teachers (or those that strived to be teachers) of that day. Indeed, being a teacher was a source of power and something that led to people being held up on a bit of a pedestal. At the same time, many of the teachers of that day, including a good amount of the just-mentioned Pharisees, were self-aggrandizing and were themselves actually quite corrupt, arrogant or otherwise sinful. Further, these self-important teachers of that day were won't to go after their own interests rather than those of their students or society in general. Even so, the passage clearly states that no human being can control their words and speech at all times. This is noted in the eighth verse where it says "but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." The subsequent verse gives a real-world example of how the same tongue can be used for good and evil. Indeed, praising the Lord (the "good" example) is one thing that can be done with the tongue while curing another human being (the "bad" example) is the other (Harris) (James 3:1-12) (Keener).
The Book of James, as the name would imply, was written by James and was probably written in greater Jerusalem or elsewhere in the Palestine area. It was written by James as a cautionary tale about the pursuit of wealth and riches and the overall subject of temptation. James makes clear that humans are prone to err but these same people can grow and foster their belief in God and otherwise improve their adherence to God and his principles as they progress in their spiritual maturity. In terms of what literary genre the Book of James would be, it would be known as wisdom literature. Others would refer to it as an encyclical, not unlike what the current Pope at any given time does on any given day. As a whole, the book is about learning and knowing the pitfalls of man and how sin is inevitable. However, it is also about teaching what the right thing is and how best to engage in a noble life as much as is possible while also knowing one's limitations as a sinner. As for why it was written, James clearly wanted to help his fellow believers grow in Christ and wrote the book as a bit of a "how-to" (Harris) (James 3:1-12) (Keener).
As for some of the words in the passage that are important and worthy of mention, the author of this report would point to two in particular. One word that should be singled out is "judged" as it is mentioned in the very first verse. Within the context of the entire verse, James is clearly saying that "judged" means being held to a higher standard given the status of the speaker. Indeed, a modern-day example would be the President or any other elected official. Actions that are certainly wrong for any person to do are amplified and become tabloid fodder when a politician does it. When a random person commits adultery, it can certainly hurt people including those in the man's family. However, when Bill Clinton engaged in the practice during his time in office, there was a significant amount of judging and disapproval that would never be levied...
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