The Tongue

James 3, one hard chapter to follow ...
Several condemning concepts ...
Pretty much it covers all Christians ...

Take a moment and read James 3, no I am not going to do a verse by verse thought process here but just concepts that seem to standout, take it out of it Western Theology Cult meaning and put it back into its Oriental (Hebrew) meaning (if I am lucky).

Teachers are to be judged harsher
Well that just makes everyone want to line up to be a teacher now doesn't!
In the context of the picture we have of the time: every village with ten or more Jews, was required to support a Synagog.  A Rabbi (teacher) had to be there.
For the Christian, there was a witness, an apostle, a missionary whom started a house church if there was no synagog to attend and teach at.
Remember Christianity is Judaism, only the Christian believers were eventually thrown out.

So, teachers existed in both the Jewish and early Christian models but the teachers could be a problem.  I have no doubt that what James was writing about was the rise of self seeking men, whom would corrupt the faith for financial gain.  Not so unlike today - a disease throughout the "christian" industry/entertainment/media/etc!  And though gaining in popularity, there are still some solid Christian witnesses out there teaching, they are just being drowned out by the prosperity cult.

So, Kris the Christian fails, big deal.
Kris the teacher fails, and now all of those whom were instructed by me have cause to give thought to the reality of Christianity.  After-all, if Kris is a HYPOCRITE and can not live up to the Christian standard - why should I?!?!?!?!?
So, Kris the Pastor fails, whoops!
Now we are impacting communities, we are impacted an extended realm of influence!  Your failure could loom so large that you are going to get national or international coverage for it! 
And the list of large of those whom have acquired failure at a national and international level!

Every wonder why we live in the Post-Christian Age?  Because there are those whom would be pastors and teachers, whom were unqualified from the start but it was only their public disgrace which removed them from causing more damage in God's name ...

But, the same could be said for all of the roles/responsibility/gifts of the Spirit - all of them can be abused for personal gain and made to become an embarrassment to God.

And the tongue - the source of the problem for the teacher:
Boosting - "i am so great", making it about you and not God
Evil - your intention in what you are saying is do wrong for you or others
Poison - your teaching can turn people away from God, from God-liness,

It sets the course of your life.
And like my father, you can be trapped by your lies and never able to life in truth ever again ...

So, thinking on the tongue:
1 Timothy 5:13  Idle words aka Gossip
Romans 1:29      Wickedness, Gossip
Proverbs 26:22   Whisperer, Rumors
2 Timothy 2:16-17 Groundless chatter, Rummors/Gossip/Stupidity

The tongue ... many uses for good but destructive in our associations with others and deadly in our walk before God.