Unity in Community 2 (James 3:1)

A Warning for Teachers and Leaders (3:1) 

We often read James 3 as a warning to watch how we speak, and that is not wrong. But there is another aspect that we need to see. James is dealing with more than just individual behavior and sanctification here. He is teaching about the need for unity in the church, the body of Christ. 

In his warning that not many should become teachers in the church, James is really admonishing against people who would be teacher (and therefore leaders) for selfish gain. The false teachers—the ever-present threat against the church in the New Testament—are a focus here. When James talks about the bit or the rudder controlling the whole body, that is in part what he means here. If our tongues are a reflection of our hearts, then it is true that our tongue do appear to control our actions. But in the case of the Church, the teachers and leaders do steer the course of the whole. And if we have a false teacher at the helm, the church is in trouble! 

False teachers—be they people who do not have the moral fortitude or the intellectual capacity to do the task of teaching and leading—have no business doing the ministry of guiding the church. God really does have a harsh judgement in store for them!