Africa Study Bible Sampler - Flipbook - Page 80
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African Touch Points
Taming the Tongue
Augustine (ad 354–430), a well-known leader of the
early church whose writings are often still read today,
was born in what is today Algeria. He wrote:
Does your own human nature prevent you
from taming your tongue? Let us understand, my
dearly beloved, that no human being can tame
the tongue, and so we must take refuge in God,
who will tame it.
Consider this analogy from the animals that
we tame. A horse does not tame itself. A camel
does not tame itself. An elephant does not tame
itself. A snake does not tame itself. A lion does not
tame itself. In the same way, a person does not
tame himself or herself. In order to tame a horse,
a camel, an elephant, a lion, or a snake, a human
being is required. Therefore, it is reasonable to
expect that God should be required in order for
our human tongue to be tamed.
6 And
among all the parts of the body, the
tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world
of wickedness, corrupting your entire body.
It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set
on fire by hell itself.*
7 People can tame all kinds of animals,
birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can
tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full
of deadly poison. 9 Sometimes it praises our
Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses
J A M E S 3 : 1 8
3:6
those who have been made in the image of
Prov 16:27
Matt 12:36-37; God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come
15:11, 18-19
pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my
3:8
Ps 140:3
brothers and sisters, this is not right! 11 Does
Rom 3:13
a spring of water bubble out with both fresh
3:9
Gen 1:26-27; water and bitter water? 12 Does a fig tree pro5:1
duce olives, or a grapevine produce figs?
1 Cor 11:7
3:12
No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a
Matt 7:16
salty spring.*
3:13
Jas 2:18
3:14
True Wisdom Comes from God
2 Cor 12:20
13 If you are wise and understand God’s
3:15
Jas 1:5, 17
ways, prove it by living an honourable life,
3:16
doing good works with the humility that
1 Cor 3:3
Gal 5:20-21
comes from wisdom. 14 But if you are bitterly
3:17
jealous and there is selfish ambition in your
Luke 6:36
Rom 12:9
heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting
Heb 12:11
and lying. 15 For jealousy and selfishness are
3:18
Prov 11:18
not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are
Isa 32:17
Matt 5:9
earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 16 For
Phil 1:11
wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil
of every kind.
17 But the wisdom from above is first of
all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at
all times, and willing to yield to others. It
is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds.
It shows no favouritism and is always sincere. 18 And those who are peacemakers will
plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of
righteousness.*
3:6 Or for it will burn in hell (Greek Gehenna).
3:12 Greek from salt.
3:18 Or of good things, or of justice.
Applica ti on
Godly Wisdom vs. Earthly Wisdom • James 3:13-18
It is easy to confuse being smart with true wisdom. Many use of mercy, impartial, and sincere. We need to ask for God’s
their academic credentials to brag. They may create bitterness, wisdom (James 1:5).
envy, strife, or confusion. They act self-important and offend
We know the value of wisdom and also the dangers of
many. Can we say such credentialed people are wise? It is easy acting foolishly, especially as leaders. Our political leaders in
to confuse being smart with true wisdom.
Africa need wisdom to make important decisions that affect
Also, many people confuse knowledge and wisdom. When our lives. But when the source of the wisdom is not from God,
knowledge is properly applied to how we live, it can bring the results can be bitterness, selfish ambition, and disorder.
wisdom. James talked about two kinds of wisdom—God’s Africa has suffered a lot from this kind of bad wisdom.
kind of wisdom and earthly wisdom. Earthly wisdom can be
We must seek wisdom from God for our nations, communities,
destructive, promote jealousy, and be selfish. God’s kind and families so we can enjoy true peace. Peacemakers who sow
of wisdom is pure, peace-loving, gentle, submissive, full in wisdom will enjoy a harvest of righteousness (James 3:18).
P r o verbs & S t or i es
Healthy Cleverness
Wisdom to the Nuer of South Sudan means “healthy clevThe opposite is true wisdom—a healthy cleverness
erness.” Healthy cleverness promotes right living and gives that builds up. It comes from God, and it is his gift to us
good understanding.
from creation.
Healthy cleverness is not cunning or a type of smartness
No one is born wise, but we can learn to acquire healthy
that harms people. Nuer believe that the jackal is a cunning cleverness that glorifies God. Wisdom is not only for the elderly;
animal. While people fill their baskets with fruit and seeds even young people can be wise when they search for the
from the trees, the jackal sleeps as though it is dead. It then wisdom that comes from above. God can give wisdom to
awakens and quickly steals the food. This is the wisdom of someone to create, advise, or teach. Old people may have
the world—cunningly stealing things from people and nations experience, but age does not always guarantee wisdom. Seek
and making them suffer.
both experience and wisdom.