October 2020 — pg. 7
All across the country, another wildfire is
raging — not a physical fire, but a fiery blaze of
incendiary rhetoric, and its path of destruction
runs right through the church. Christian citizens,
enflamed by passionate political and cultural
views, are fighting one another in a war of words.
Even among members of the same family or
church, loving and patient conversations with
those who differ have been replaced by verbal
flame throwing.
These flames are fanned by social media, talk
radio and cable news. The algorithms of social
media are designed to reinforce whatever we
have liked or shared, so we get more and more
content that confirms our biases. TV and radio
stations have learned that it’s more profitable for
their advertisers if they appeal to one narrow
slice of the ideological pie, so they often give
their own slant exclusively. Truth itself seems to
have been set ablaze, as some political ads are
filled with blatant lies, convincing the gullible. In
this toxic environment, people stop imagining
that someone with a different view could even
have a point.
Many of our churches are completely ill-equipped
to handle the polarization we’re
experiencing. We have usually avoided political
discourse entirely, so we don’t know what to do
as the flames have spread into our members’ lives
and set them against one another. We grieve a
generational and cultural divide and don’t know
how to talk across the gap. Whether in face-to-face
conversation or on social media, too many
Christians are caught up in disrespectful name
calling and angry judgment of one another.
The New Testament letter of James speaks
directly to our moment:
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of
this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to
speak and slow to become angry, because human
anger does not produce the righteousness that
God desires” (James 1:19–20).
“Those who consider themselves religious
and yet do not keep a tight rein on their
“Loving and patient
conversations with
those who differ
have been replaced
by verbal flame
throwing.”
tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is
worthless” (James 1:26).
“Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the
body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what
a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The
tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the
parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets
the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself
set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds,
reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and
have been tamed by mankind, but no human
being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil,
full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise
our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human
beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.
Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.
My brothers and sisters, this should not be”
(James 3:5–10).
If James compared the tongue to a fire, which
can be set ablaze by hell and can burn the whole
course of one’s life, what would he say about the
words we write? How we “speak” through our
keyboards and smartphones with our fingers and
thumbs? I think if he were alive to experience
our current reality, he would declare that the
principle is the same: human anger doesn’t
produce the outcome God desires, and angry
speech causes more harm than we can imagine.
Untamed words, enflamed passions, cursing
one another — these have no place in the life of
Christ-followers. He would be as disturbed by
what we write as by what his readers spoke: Out
of the same mouth come praise and cursing! This
should not be.