“1 ¶  My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 2  For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3  Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4  Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5  Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. 7  For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8  But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9  With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10  Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 11  Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12  Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.” (James 3:1-12 NKJV)

            James warns us to be a teacher is not something we should seek and we must realize carries with it a stricter judgment!  Some might consider this unfair and others may say this makes it harder to find teachers.  Why should a teacher receive a stricter judgment just because they are a teacher?

            The answer to why teachers receive a stricter judgment can be seen in the rest of this passage. James spends many harsh verses dealing with the power of our tongue and the horrific damage an unruly tongue can make not only in our lives but also in the lives of others.

            A teacher carries an eternal burden of the souls of their students. James reminds us our tongue is an expression of our heart and it is very difficult to not teach from our heart and mind rather than from God’s word! We can even come to believe in what our tongue say’s rather than what God reveals to us in the Bible!

            This will lead not only us to eternal destruction but also our students! As teachers we will have the blood of our students on our own soul!

            To teach our own “truth” or what is acceptable in our time and community is to call God a liar and to despise the Truth! When we teach untruth and call it God’s truth we confuse and deceive our students and even ourselves!

            The tongue can create or destroy, praise God or abuse God and is so many ways either cause havoc or bring peace.  The danger of the tongue is seen in how many use their tongue for destruction compared to how few use it for peace.

            Why did James speak so harsh and so much about the power of the tongue?  Why did James say the tongue rather than our tongue?  How do you use your tongue?