A case is made for the importance of controlling the tongue. For teachers, this is especially important because their tongues are very influential. In Genesis 1 we are told that God made humanity in his own likeness. James points out that we cannot praise God and then insult those who are made in God’s likeness. James goes on to contrast two kinds of wisdom. There is earthly wisdom, which helps a person take advantage of others, and there is heavenly wisdom, which makes us, and those around us, better. We are challenged to seek heavenly wisdom.
When James was writing, words were almost always spoken and only sometimes handwritten. Today we have printed and electronic means of communicating our words. It is so much more important for us to pay attention to the fact that those we talk about and to are created in God’s likeness. He loves them, no matter what they do.