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James 3:1
1 My [mou] brethren [adelphos], be [ginomai] not [me] many [polus] masters [didaskalos], knowing [eido] that [hoti] we shall receive [lambano] the greater [meizon] condemnation [krima]. KJV-Interlinear
1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment. NASB
The word for 'masters' is a reference to anyone who might fulfill the role of instructor or teacher. This is not limited to priests or rabbi's, or anyone who might be considered an instructor of theology. This also includes anyone who has a tongue.
And that includes you, and just about everyone on the planet.
In this chapter, James gives us a lesson regarding the tongue. It is a little component in the human anatomy, but it can pack a huge wallop in society.
Anyone who can speak, has the potential of being an instructor. Anyone who can listen, has the potential of being a student. So your words when spoken, or written for that matter, fly out of your mouth or mind, and into the general population.
Your hearers, are other people. Whether family, fellow workers, or strangers, makes no difference. Your words have the potential of being believed by others and as such, you can potentially mis-direct others in their life.
God has a message for you. If you are going to speak your mind, then you had better be speaking the truth, and with wisdom, otherwise your evaluation, when you stand before the Lord, will go a bit harder for you. Christ will pour over your record and make your evaluation tougher.
As for religious leaders, political leaders, social leaders, parents, or people in general, there will be a special intensified evaluation of them because of the looseness of their tongues, and the vastness of their attitude.
Preachers or religious instructors especially, will receive the severest of reviews. They have the potential of turning people away from their correct spiritual path. And as such, these instructors can potentially be destroying an eternity of blessing for others.
The worst possible outcome is to turn people away from Christ, and thus lose their salvation.
Now, note that everyone is accountable for his or her own decisions. No one has any excuse even if they have been misled by faulty instruction. God provides plenty of alternative sources of truth, to counter the bad sources.
But this verse is dealing with the tongue and those who use it.
Tyrant leaders, unqualified leader want-to-be's, those who are impressed by their own opinion, radicals and such, are good candidates for Gods special review. The whole point here is, think before you speak. And if you have nothing good to say, then remain quiet.
