⁹With it [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; ¹⁰from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. ¹¹Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? ¹²Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.

James speaks against moral or spiritual relativeness. The prevailing thought among religious people, even secularists, is that everyone’s life is graded on a curve. It is assumed (except in the case of narcissism) that no one is perfect and therefore everyone does bad at times. However, as the thinking goes, the bad deeds are outweighed, hopefully, by the good things a person does. So it would follow that James is not saying anything alarming; he is merely presenting the reality with hyperbole—expressing his point by using extreme examples. Philosophical dualism teaches that there are two competing forces in the universe, good and evil, that relatively balance each other out.

Indeed, the deeds of very religious or moral people will often dwarf those of less-religious people, and they make for a better world for all humanity. However, James’ point does not support the typical religious answer: “Work hard so that your good deeds offset your bad deeds.” Nor does he promote legalism, contrary to the widely held impression that his writings create theological tension with Paul’s teaching on grace.

Actually, the teaching of this letter fits very well into what the Lord Jesus taught during His earthly ministry. He writes in black-and-white terms. Yes, we all sin, he agrees, and the situation is worse than the moralists and religionists think. With this, Paul’s writings in Romans 1–3 are of the same cloth, culminating in the declaration that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Neither James nor Paul leaves room for any rationalization for or allowance for sin—at all! No one can get away with the excuse, “I’m not perfect, but neither is anyone else!”

At this point, we are faced with a startling, convincing, and convicting charge. It is completely incongruous that we could bless God and at the same time curse others—one source producing two diametrically opposite effects! After all, when we curse (or speak evil of, or use our words as weapons against) others, we are essentially doing it against those made in God’s image. That is like cursing the picture of someone I profess to love! God will have none of that! Two simple illustrations of a water fountain and agriculture support the point. James is not legalistic; no, he is writing concerning genuine holiness.

Lord, help me not slide into moral relativeness; I want to be authentically holy!