Dual PanelChristian speaking
1MY friends, not many of you should become teachers, for you may be certain that we who teach will ourselves face severer judgement.
2All of us go wrong again and again; a man who never says anything wrong is perfect and is capable of controlling every part of his body.
3When we put a bit into a horse's mouth to make it obey our will, we can direct the whole animal.
4Or think of a ship: large though it may be and driven by gales, it can be steered by a very small rudder on whatever course the helmsman chooses.
5So with the tongue; it is small, but its pretensions are great. What a vast amount of timber can be set ablaze by the tiniest spark!
6And the tongue is a fire, representing in our body the whole wicked world. It pollutes our whole being, it sets the whole course of our existence alight, and its flames are fed by hell.
7Beasts and birds of every kind, creatures that crawl on the ground or swim in the sea, can be subdued and have been subdued by man;
8but no one can subdue the tongue. It is an evil thing, restless and charged with deadly venom.
9We use it to praise our Lord and Father; then we use it to invoke curses on our fellow-men, though they are made in God's likeness.
10Out of the same mouth come praise and curses. This should not be so, my friends.
11Does a fountain flow with both fresh and brackish water from the same outlet?
12My friends, can a fig tree produce olives, or a grape vine produce figs? No more can salt water produce fresh.
The sin of envy
13WHICH of you is wise or learned? Let him give practical proof of it by his right conduct, with the modesty that comes of wisdom.
14But if you are harbouring bitter jealousy and the spirit of rivalry in your hearts, stop making false claims in defiance of the truth.
15This is not the wisdom that comes from above; it is earth-bound, sensual, demonic.
16For with jealousy and rivalry come disorder and the practice of every kind of evil.
17But the wisdom from above is in the first place pure; and then peace-loving, considerate, and open-minded; it is straightforward and sincere, rich in compassion and in deeds of kindness that are its fruit.
18Peace is the seed-bed of righteousness, and the peacemakers will reap its harvest.