Introduction and context

I wasn’t meant to be writing about the Olympic or Paralympic Games, but I hope you’ll forgive me if I do! The unprecedented interest in both events means it is still relevant, and particularly so in relation to this week’s readings.
The metaphors of horse-bit and rudder in this week’s reading are perhaps more vividly resonant right now, with the memory of recent demonstrations of equestrian prowess at Greenwich and expert sailing at Weymouth and Portland still fresh.

Reflection

James’ basic message – that we should be careful what we say – is simple enough to understand but hard to put into practice. James himself acknowledges that taming the tongue is not easy, impossible, even. We will all make mistakes. The standard here at first seems unachievable, but there is perhaps some comfort to be found in the choice of those particular metaphors. Just as the rider or sailor has to dedicate effort to learning how to control a horse or boat, it takes effort and practice to control our tongues. As we improve, the standards to which we are held accountable become higher. The teacher is judged more strictly than others and must guard what they say even more carefully, because their influence and therefore their responsibility are greater than that of the average person. The elite athlete becomes a national hero by competing at Olympic or Paralympic level but to make that team they have had to train and work hard to meet a far higher standard than the weekend sportsperson. Consider how many of the athletes when asked in interview, ‘What next?’ said that – perhaps after a celebratory rest – they hoped to become even better in future.

The words that trip off our tongue can, as James’ talk of forest fires and deadly poison reminds us, be destructive. They can inflict direct hurt, as we can probably all testify from personal experience. But it doesn’t always end there. Left unchecked the wrong things that we say – a cruel joke, a gossipy remark, a snide comment, an angry outburst – can quickly lead to far greater consequences than we might expect. Damaging words, shared and spread by others, magnify in effect. A careless comment can provoke others to hurtful actions we might never have taken ourselves. Continued, unchallenged use of what might seem like a minor example of ‘bad language’ can begin to hard-bake such attitudes into our hearts: the rudder steers the ship. This is why it is so important to listen when people ask us to be careful with the language that we use and not be too quick to dismiss criticism as (depending on the context) primness, censorship or ‘political correctness’. We may have become inured to the effects of the language we commonly hear or use, but this does not mean there is no consequence from it, for ourselves or others. As Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson said ‘In sport, as in every other aspect of public life, language matters. It defines who we are, how we are perceived and the impression we leave.’ Consider how we can leave an impression that is consistent with a life that honours God; a fresh, reviving stream of water with no bitter aftertaste.

James uses fire to depict destructive energy, but fire can also be used for good, bringing heat and light. It’s in this alternate context that the Olympic and Paralympic flames sit, as aptly dramatized in the fire-filled Paralympic Closing Ceremony, titled the ‘Festival of Flame’. Here, in the ceremonial flames borne across the country and into the Stadium, was a representation of how a spark of hope and of inspiration for change can be carried out to others. London 2012 aimed to ‘Inspire a generation’, not just to take up sport, but also to think about themselves, their countries, and the people around them in a new light. The British Paralympic Association speaks of its ‘vision of positively affecting the way that British society thinks, feels and behaves towards disabled people in general’.
There is much still to be done, but it’s a start, a spark of flame, and we can all help to fan the flames for change. Tim Hollingsworth of the BPA sums it up thus: ‘The challenge now is to learn from all the positives that have come out of London and build on the momentum in this country.’ Consider how we might fan the spark into a flame of hope, inspiration and change in our communities.

 
Prayer

A prayer to read in a time of quiet:

Teach me, God, to choose my words well.
Help me to rein in my tongue when I feel the urge to speak ill of others,
so that there will be no bitter aftertaste when I close my mouth.
Help me to find strength in silence when the time comes to listen,
and the courage to raise my voice when the time comes to speak out.
Help me to find kind words to build others up and sustain them through hard times,
encouraging words to motivate and move others to know your will.
Touch me with a tongue of flame, so your Spirit can speak within me,
purify my heart, and fill my lips with your praise.
Amen.

Questions

• With young people or adults, if you have time for further discussion and feel that it’s appropriate for your group, you could look further at some of the examples of language usage around the topic of disability raised in the BBC News Magazine article  ‘Paralympics 2012: Is it OK to call the athletes brave?’, by Damon Rose of BBC Ouch!
• Extend the topic beyond disability issues. What other examples of problematic language have people come across? If we are okay with something, does that make it okay? You might consider TV programmes or songs which push boundaries of acceptability.
• Comedy can be a particularly fraught area of language. What is and isn’t it acceptable to laugh at? In the context of the Paralympic Games, Channel 4 blogger James Ballardie spoke to Adam Hills, the presenter of Channel 4’s late-night Paralympic comedy chat show The Last Leg in a short film (4 minutes), which you can watch on this Channel 4 blog. Hills makes one point that is particularly worth noting: ‘I think it all depends on where you’re coming from when you make these jokes…’. Our tongues reveal where our hearts lie. (Warning: watch this clip before showing it to your group and make your own decision about its suitability.)

Action

Isaiah 50.4 reminds us that the tongue can do good as well as ill, especially if we train it right. With ‘the tongue of a teacher… I may know how to sustain the weary with a word’.
What words can we use this week to build someone up and sustain them through hard times, or to encourage them and help them grow?

Some of us may have many opportunities at work or school to encourage others, while for some of us contact may be more limited, or more intimidating. But you can always start small; it could be as simple as saying thank you to the bus driver, or asking a shop assistant how their day has been.

Rebecca Froley was the web editor of ROOTS at its launch and is now web manager of an online news start-up off Fleet Street in London.

 

PostScript Extra

Since Rebecca wrote her piece for this Sunday, two news stories have broken which might be pertinent to a consideration of James 3.1-2  as we consider the impact of our words:

• The report on the Hillsborough disaster is published leading people to hope that the truth about what was said and done 23 years ago might be established;
  
• The attack on the US consulate in Libya has led to the death of four Americans including the Ambassador J Christopher Stevens who only recently spoke out to say he would stand up for America’s values and interests even when that meant putting himself in danger.

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