Henry Krabbendam - James - World Evangelical Alliance

the very moment of its birth. Even the animal kingdom would stand aghast in
the face of the uncontrollable and untamable tongue (Zodhiates, II, 104-115).
Apparently “no member of the body has a greater capacity for doing harm, in
spite its capacity for doing good” (Brosend, 87).
A second commentator is also of the opinion that James 3 is all about the
tongue, especially as “the primary evidence of our fallen state.” While it is a
particular liability for teachers because of their extensive use of it, “every
self-aware believer” will only too readily recognize how prominent sins of
the tongue are in terms of “the hasty word, the untruthful statement, the sly
suggestion, harmful gossip, innuendo, impurity,” etc. However, James brings
all this out to make the positive point that “the tongue holds a key place in
holy living.” In fact, to control it, like a bit controls a horse, and the rudder a
ship, is to be in command of the master-key, the master-switch, of perfection
(Jam. 3:2). After all, winning the battle of the tongue is winning any and all
battles. As such the tongue is not only pivotal for perfection in the immediate
context, but also the focal point of James’ Epistle in general. All its strands
lead up to it, merge into it, emerge from it, and spread out from it (Motyer,
117-121).
To be sure, the tongue is an unbelievable evil, a world of unrighteousness,
an ever present defilement, an all-encompassing conflagration, a hellish
fire, “impossible to subdue by any power resident in mere human nature.” As
a result the graphic description of “its place among our bodily faculties, the
dangers it threatens, the fearful task of controlling such a restive beast,” may
well seem “too much, far beyond the capacity of our present state of sanctification.”
Still in view of James 4:10 there is some daylight, a glimmer of
hope! The cause is neither totally, not hopelessly lost. “We can make a start
here. Here is something precise, limited, manageable,” something within our
reach, “something we can tackle.” “It concerns the way we speak inwardly
about a brother or sister ... with a new respect for the image of God seen in
the members of his family.” This, then apparently sets the train of life (back)
on track and (once again) in motion toward the eventual goal of the perfect
man (Motyer, 124, 126, with reference to Jam. 4:10 against the backdrop of
Jam. 4:2).
Frankly, this assessment of the tongue is partly excellent, partly problematic,
and partly errant.
First of all, the description of “the terror” that the tongue represents as “a
restless evil” and “a deadly poison” is right on the money.
Second, to declare the issue of the tongue the central concern of the
Epistle of James, around which all sections cluster, the hinge on which eve-
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