A simple claw hammer, a two foot metal stake, and a yellow jacket nest… On first glance, this could be the start of a really bad joke. And, just like a really bad joke, there’s nothing funny about where this story goes. In late summer of 2018, the third largest Californian wildfire was set ablaze as a result of these simple items. One article about the fire explains, “California’s largest wildfire was ignited by a scattered spark or hot metal fragment formed when a Potter Valley rancher used a metal hammer last summer to drive a large metal stake into a yellow jacket nest on a dry, grassy slope on his Highway 20 ranch…”
The scope and destructive power of this fire was breathtaking. The fire burned for the better part of five months, from late July to early January. It spread across and destroyed 641 square miles of real estate. It all started with one small spark coming from the simple strike of a farmers hammer on a metal stake to try to slow yellow jackets. While the fire doesn’t quite reach what we would consider biblical proportions, it does feel extremely parabolic. It doesn’t require much mental effort to imagine Jesus Himself telling this story on a Judean hillside and connecting it to the attitudes and actions of His listeners.
How great a fire a small spark can start!
Perhaps such a retelling might sound something like this: A farmer went out to his field to place a shade over a water supply for his cattle. On the way, he disturbed an underground nest of yellow jackets and they began to swarm him. Being allergic to bee stings, he decided to close the opening of the nest to contain them while he worked. Taking a hammer in hand, he drove the stake into the ground, and as he was hammering, he began to smell smoke. Turning, the farmer realized that the tall grass nearby had caught fire. Straightaway, the fire spread up and down the hillside and across the land growing into a raging wildfire. How great a fire a small spark can start!
While there is no clear parallel for this story in the gospels, the book of James offers some content that correlates. James 3:5-6 reads, “Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” The aforementioned story is a literal example of “what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.” A handheld hammer created a tiny spark that charred an area over 100 square miles greater than the entirety of Jackson County, Indiana! (Jackson County is 514 square miles) James argues that our tongues carry the same sort of destructive power. Angry, hateful, thoughtless, and graceless words have the power to leave hearts charred and scarred and can do damage that often lasts a lifetime.
We love our freedom of speech here in America. All too often, we abuse the freedom we have. We take it as a license to say whatever we want, whenever we want, to whomever we want. We make a mistake when we assume those words don’t have power or consequences. We may not get in trouble for our words, but perhaps our words stir trouble in the hearts and minds of those who receive them. The old adage “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me” are utter nonsense. Many times, words cut deeper and do much longer lasting damage than any stick or stone ever did.
Careless, hateful, and soul-scorching words are incompatible with the Christian witness.
Perhaps rather than using our freedom to speak, we would do well to exercise our right to be silent. In his book The Religion of American Greatness: What’s Wrong with Christian Nationalism, Paul Miller offers this relevant and timely reminder.
“God commands us to ‘take every thought captive to obey Christ’ (2 Corinthians 10:5), to ‘let your speech always be gracious’ (Colossians 4:6), because ‘death and life are in the power of the tongue’ (Proverbs 18:21)… excusing someone’s words because they are ‘just words’ is careless and insensitive…”
Our tongues, or rather the words that come from them, have incredible destructive power. Those who wear the name of Christ (Christians), are obligated to consider their words continuously and carefully. We represent in name and in action Jesus, the Word made flesh, the very Word of Life. Careless, hateful, and soul-scorching words are incompatible with the Christian witness. May we take care that no sparks, whether intended or not, fly from our mouths, setting ablaze the heart of another, and leaving behind a scorched soul in our wake. Rather, may we speak the truth in love, seeking to bring about new life through the compassionate grace of Jesus flowing from us.
