The connection between this section and those that have gone before is not immediately obvious,1 yet it is there. While it is true that James introduces a new notion by discussing teachers, the heart of this section, like that found in 1:19–21, has to do with proper speech. James launches this discussion because verbal attack, in the same manner as the favoritism he has just discussed, has a particularly corrosive and lethal effect on the life of a community, especially a community of faith. Indeed,