Heed the Calling

James offers a clear warning: harsh, critical, damaging language has no place in a faithful life. The text suggests it’s impossible for the two to coexist: “Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs?” James asks. Then he answers, “No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.”
No Christian wants to cause harm. Every one of us believes we’re doing the right thing or, at the very least, that our responses are justified. None of us sets out to inflict pain or emotional damage on our loved ones or communities. Yet modern American Christianity is characterized largely by infighting, anger, and bitterness. How do we change? When we interact with people who have either hurt us or who we believe are hurting others, how do we move past our indignation to extend grace and compassion to one another?
Even as James describes the problem, he hints at the solution: We can remember that each person is created in the image of God. We tend to see ourselves as complex beings and weigh our motivations as heavily as our results. We view ourselves as capable of love, kindness, faithfulness, and grace, even when we act in a manner that does not line up with such values. Do we extend the same gracious perspective to others? Are we looking for glimpses of God’s nature within each person we meet? We hold tightly to the parts of our lives that reflect God’s image and judge our misbehavior in their light. Do we look for God’s image within others as well, buried beneath their own mountains of pain and good intentions?