Day 1073 · Year 3 · The Great Tradition
Chrysostom on what comes out of your mouth
A preacher with a 'golden mouth' had hard things to say about ours.
Today's passage
James 3:5-10
5In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.
6The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,
8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.
10Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be!
Berean Standard Bible · public domain
Reflection
John Chrysostom was nicknamed 'golden mouth' because he preached so well. He spent much of that gift preaching about the damage the tongue can do — gossip, slander, harsh words at home, careless words at work. James 3 backs him up. The tongue is small, but it sets forests on fire. The path forward is not white-knuckled silence; it is honest prayer about what is in the heart, because Jesus said what comes out of the mouth comes from there. If your speech keeps hurting people, do not first work on your speech. Work, with the Spirit, on your heart.
From the great tradition · paraphrased
John Chrysostom · Latin & Eastern Doctors · 4th–5th c. · Antioch/Constantinople
Chrysostom returned again and again to the tongue — convinced that small words spoken in love or in anger have outsized power over marriages, families, friendships, and souls.
Paraphrase only. Scripture, not any teacher, is the authority.
Think it through
- What three images does James use for the tongue in verses 5–6?
- What contradiction does James name in verses 9–10?
- Where has your speech been doing damage you need to bring to God?
A prayer to pray
Confess specifically. Ask the Spirit to work on the heart out of which the words come. Ask God for the courage to repair what you can.