James 3:1-12

“If only I could press ‘rewind’ and take back what I just said.” … I suspect we’ve all had that feeling at some point.

On Sunday we heard a grim diagnosis from James about our speech: “no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” (V8)

For James’ readers – tempted to half-heartedness – their bad speech was the tell-tale sign of a deeper problem: their divided hearts. His solution can’t, then, be simply rules to follow for good speech … they need heart surgery.

So as James brings his diagnosis to a close in this section, we read on eagerly to discover the treatment.