In Chapter 3 of the Letter of St. James, the apostle states: “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”
Since teachers must necessarily use many words, they must use their tongue carefully. A truly wise person is humble and peaceable. James wrote about the destructive power of the tongue and about earthly versus heavenly wisdom.
St. James wrote, “And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.” The tongue reflects what is going on in the heart of the person.
St. Cyril of Alexandria said, “The effective proof of a sound mind and perfect thought is to have nothing faulty on our tongue and to keep our mouths closed when necessary.”
St. Hilary of Arles said, “Perfection consists of righteousness, and silence is the way to achieve it. This is why James connects perfection with keeping one’s mouth shut.”
St. Faustina Kowalska wrote, “A silent soul is strong; no adversities will harm it if it perseveres in silence. The silent soul is capable of attaining the closest union with God. It lives almost always under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God works in a silent soul without hindrance.”
St. Josemaria Escriva said, “Silence is the doorkeeper of the interior life.”
St. James wrote, “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.”
St. Jerome said, “The sword kills the body, but the tongue kills the soul. The tongue knows no moderation—either it is a great good or it is a great evil. It is a great good when it acknowledges that Christ is God, and a great evil when it denies that.”
The tongue is capable of achieving both great good and great evil. St. Basil the Great said, “For the sin which is caused by the tongue is very active and many-sided, being active in wrath, lust, hypocrisy, judgment, and deception. Do we need to recall the many names which are given to sins of the tongue? For from it come slanders, coarse jokes, idiocies, irrelevant accusations, bitterness, swearing, false witness—the tongue is the creator of all these evil things and more.”
In the epistle, St. James often used the word “brethren.” He was not addressing non-Christians but addressing members in the family of faith. In families the weapons that hurt the most are words, and the greatest damage is done by gossip and slander.
St. Josemaria gave this advice: “Don’t make negative criticism. If you can’t praise, say nothing.”
The tongue also has enormous power for good. We use the tongue to proclaim Christ to others. We also use our tongue to profess the baptismal faith and to confess our sins. In fact, all the Sacraments required the use of the tongue.
In understanding the nature of true wisdom, it is important to make the distinction between knowledge and wisdom. With the Internet, it is quite easy for us to accumulate massive amount of knowledge. But knowledge is not the same as wisdom.
According to Scott Hahn and Mark Shea, “Knowledge is having right answers; wisdom is doing the right thing in the right way in the right time. Wisdom, therefore, is the application of knowledge. Knowledge is theoretical; wisdom is practical. Knowledge is intellectual; wisdom is relational. This means that when reading Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, papal encyclicals, or attending Mass we must listen carefully and ask the Holy Spirit to help us find practical ways of living out the knowledge we have received.”
It is also important to understand the difference between true and false wisdom. Earthly or false wisdom is motived by “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition.”
Humility is at the heart of true wisdom. A teacher of faith should not be motivated by self-glorification but should be motivated by the desire to serve God and others.
St. John of the Cross said, “Wisdom enters through love, silence, and mortification. It is great wisdom to know how to be silent and to look at neither the remarks, nor the deeds, nor the lives of others.”
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智慧藉沉默進來
在聖雅各伯書的第3章中，這宗徒說：『我的弟兄們，你們作教師的人，不要太多，該知道我們作教師的，要受更嚴厲的審判。』(3:1) 由於教師必須使用許多詞彙，因此他們必須謹慎使用他們的舌頭。一個真正有智慧的人是謙卑和平和的。雅各寫了舌頭的破壞力（3：2-12）和地上的聖雅各伯寫道：『誰若在言語上不犯過失，他便是個完人，也必能控制全身。』(3:2)亞歷山大的濟利祿說：『健全的頭腦和完美的思想的有效證明是我們的舌頭上沒有任何問題，並在必要時閉上嘴巴。』阿爾勒的依拉略說：『完美在於正義，沉默是實現它的方法。這就是為什麼雅各伯將完美與箴默聯繫起來。』智慧與天上的智慧（3：13-18）。
聖傅天娜寫道：『沉默的靈魂是強大的;如果它默默地堅持下去，任何逆境都不會傷害它。寂靜的靈魂能夠達到與天主最親近的結合。它幾乎總是生活在聖神的默示下。天主在一個沉默的靈魂中工作，沒有阻礙。』聖若瑟瑪利亞、施禮華說：『沉默是內心生活的守門人。』
聖雅各伯的寫道：『同樣，舌頭雖然是一個小小的肢體，卻能誇大。』(3:5)聖熱羅尼莫說：『劍殺死身體，舌頭殺死靈魂。舌頭不知道節制——會是大善，也會是大惡。當它承認基督是天主時，這是一個大善，當它否認這一點時，就是一個大惡。』舌頭既能實現大善，也能成就大惡。
聖巴西略說：『因為由舌頭引起的罪是非常活躍和多面的，活躍在憤怒、慾望、虛偽、審判和欺騙中。我們需要回憶舌頭罪的許多名字嗎？因為從中來的是誹謗、粗俗的笑話、愚蠢、無關緊要的指責、苦毒、咒罵、虛假的見證——舌頭是所有這些邪惡事物的創造者，甚至更多。』
在宗徒書信，聖雅各伯時常用『弟兄們』這字。他不是在對非基督徒講話，而是對信仰家庭的成員講話。在家庭中，傷害最大的武器是言語，最大的傷害是說是非和誹謗。聖若瑟瑪利亞勸戒說：『不要做負面批評。如果你不能讚美，什麼都不說。』
舌頭也有巨大的美好的力量。我們用舌頭向別人宣講基督。我們也用舌頭來承認聖洗信仰並承認我們的罪孽。事實上，所有的聖事都需要使用舌頭。
在理解真正智慧的本質時，重要的是要區分知識和智慧。有了互聯網，我們很容易積累大量的知識。但知識並不等同於智慧。根據Scott Hahn 和Mark Shea的說法，『知識就是有正確的答案;智慧是在正確的時間以正確的方式做正確的事。因此，智慧是知識的應用。知識是理論性的;智慧是實用的。知識是智力的;智慧是關係性的。這意味著，在閱讀聖經、天主教教理、教宗通諭或參加彌撒時，我們必須仔細聆聽，並祈求聖神幫助我們找到一個實際可行的方法去活出我們所接受的智識。』
瞭解真智慧和假智慧之間的區別也很重要。世俗的或虛假的智慧是由『惡毒的嫉妒和紛爭』所驅動的。謙卑是真正智慧的核心。一個信仰的教師不應該被自我榮耀所激勵，而應該被為天主和他人服務的願望所激勵。
聖十字若望說：『智慧通過愛、沉默和克己而來。知道如何保持沉默，不看別人的言論，不看行為，也不看別人的生活，這是極大的智慧。』
