My brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers, because we know that we teachers will be judged more strictly. ² We all make mistakes often, but those who don’t make mistakes with their words have reached full maturity. Like a bridled horse, they can control themselves entirely. ³ When we bridle horses and put bits in their mouths to lead them wherever we want, we can control their whole bodies.

⁴ Consider ships: They are so large that strong winds are needed to drive them. But pilots direct their ships wherever they want with a little rudder. ⁵ In the same way, even though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts wildly.

Think about this: A small flame can set a whole forest on fire. ⁶ The tongue is a small flame of fire, a world of evil at work in us. It contaminates our entire lives. Because of it, the circle of life is set on fire. The tongue itself is set on fire by the flames of hell.

James 3:1-6, CEB

This summer, Wesley Bros Comics has accidentally taken a back seat to the rest of my life, in part due to the busyness of moving households, mission weeks, and vacation. But in a larger part, my drawing tablet has been on the fritz and finally decided to die on me (enter sobbing emoji here)!  This week’s comic looks more like a sketch than a final product, but it’s taken me almost two weeks to process what I’ve been feeling in my soul and create a simple comic story for you.

On the last Sunday of July, I listened to an incredible sermon on James 3 (podcast linked below), that truly had me reflecting on the power of the tongue, the audacity of words.  The author of James says of the tongue, “Think about this: a small flame can set a whole forest on fire.”  We have entered a time in history where social media propels every tongue onto the world stage (at least in our own minds), with billions of small flames recklessly setting the world on fire.  We tweet and post fuel to reinforce our own beliefs and refuse to foster dialogue or discourse in any meaningful way.  No wonder the world is anxious and fearful. No wonder we don’t speak to former friends and family. It’s too volatile. The smallest spark might set one of us off to exploding.  Our ideas, our words, our certainty and self-righteousness created a social climate change too toxic to sustain meaningful human relationships.

Honestly, I’ve blamed my busyness and my busted drawing tablet, but the truth is, I’ve not written a new comic in months because James 3 put the fear of God in me.  We who presume to be teachers will be judged more strictly, right?  Now we’ve ALL presumed to be teachers, and we’re all judging each other with the strictest of measures.  The splinter in your eye is so big that I cannot possibly be bothered to understand your humanity.  Meanwhile, I am so confident that I’m on the “right side of history” that I boast wildly with hard stops and absolutes.  I am so confident that my suffering is more important than yours, that my trauma matters more to God than yours, that I speak for the ones God cares for most.  I can plainly see that you are worshipping idols, yet fail to see what I have chiseled into my own image.

“But the LORD  is in his holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before him.” Habbakuk 2:20.

I wish I could neatly wrap my thoughts up for you, but today, I think it better to leave you with a hymn from Charles Wesley.  Take time this week to rest in God’s presence, my friends.

1 When quiet in my house I sit,
Thy book be my companion still;
My joy Thy sayings to repeat,
Talk o’er the records of Thy will,
And search the oracles divine,
Till every heart-felt word be mine.

2 O may the gracious words divine
Subject of all my converse be;
So will the Lord his follower join,
And walk and talk himself with me.
So shall my heart his presence prove,
And burn with everlasting love.

3 Oft as I lay me down to rest,
O may the reconciling word
Sweetly compose my weary breast;
While on the bosom of my Lord
I sink in blissful dreams away,
And visions of eternal day.

4 Rising to sing my Saviour’s praise,
Thee may I publish all day long;
And let thy precious word of grace
Flow from my heart, and fill my tongue;
Fill all my life with purest love,
And join me to the Church above.