day 21

James 3:1-2

James continues in his warnings and declarations to the Christian diaspora. He begins this section on a discussion for those who aspire to be teachers.

  In those times, much dignity and acclaim came to those who were teachers. The people in those days were taught to regard teachers with utmost respect.

Citing William Barclay, Kent Hughes offers this explanation: ‘The title rabbi meant “My great one”, and those holding that office were accorded the greatest respect. One’s duty to help a rabbi exceeded even the duty to help one’s parents. In fact, should a rabbi and one’s father and mother be captured by an enemy, duty demanded that the rabbi be ransomed first!’¹

Because of the respect that teachers could receive, the temptation for many was to take up the profession in order to receive the adulation of the people. James, addresses this by appealing to their better natures. We dare not seek the office if we are not going to do so to the glory of God. The reason was simple:greater judgment.

The Bible reminds us that all have sinned (Rom. 3:23) and James continues the idea by reminding his hearers that “we all stumble” (ESV), the one who does not is perfect, and that perfection can only be achieved if they keep their whole body in check by the little apparatus called the tongue.

James gives us some valuable guidance. He essentially says, ‘Do you want to achieve spiritual maturity? Concentrate on your talking! If you can get this under control, the rest will be relatively easy for you.’ He does not say that spiritual maturity is impossible. Nor does he say it is easy. Here is the note of hope—it is possible! And the way to begin achieving it is by giving special attention to our speech.²

Prayer focus

¹ Ellsworth, R. (2009). Opening up James (p. 104). Leominster: Day One Publications.

² Ellsworth, R. (2009). Opening up James (p. 107). Leominster: Day One Publications.