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Look, at me, blogging on a Sunday afternoon!! I know, I know, it's a novel idea of late!! LOL Rob and I actually went to the service in person this morning because I decided I wasn't going to let a little piece of cloth stop me from worshipping in person. That being said, it still doesn't make sense to me that the decision was brought back, but we're "not bowing to fear"... IDK... whatever...
So do I have any horse, cattle, or boat people out there?? I would love to be a horse person, but I don't think that would go over very well with the local Housing Authority... LOL nor my current budget, tbh... But a childhood friend of mine had a horse that I helped with on occasion, so at least there's that. She won lots of ribbons over the years. I didn't actually see more than 1 or 2 of her shows, but the point is, that it's a fairly small piece of metalwork that is used to train and guide large animals and other things. A bit for horses, a ring in the nose of cattle, or the rudder of a boat or ship. As we will see in this passage, small things can be very important in our daily lives. And that may or may not involve large animals or water. What we all share in common is our tongues.
James 3:1-12
New International Version
Taming the Tongue 3 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. 3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 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. 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
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Now, I know had a passage a couple of weeks ago about watching HOW we speak (or communicate), in terms of being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Today's passage digs deeper into our words and what they reveal about our hearts. So it's kind of more about WHAT we say as opposed to how*... If we were to title this message, it would be, "Words Matter" -- Let's take a look --
I'm sure we've all heard the expression back in childhood that goes like this, "Sticks and stones may break my bones; but words will ___________" Yep, never hurt me, right?? As adults, we have learned what a colossal load of crap that is*. At least I would hope so. Idk who came up with that, but I'm sure we would all love a conversation with them...
The fact is, our words reveal our hearts and they have a strong impact. That being said, it's the tongue that delivers them or refrains depending on what we decide to say or not say at any given moment. When we allow God to guide our words, we are really allowing Him to change our hearts. That's were the real work is done. It's like a sound system. The speakers are not responsible for what comes out of them. It's the radio or instruments connected to them that contain the words and/or music. The speakers are just the delivery system. Likewise, our tongues deliver the messages of our hearts depending on our choices.
Looking at our passage today, we find that the message is primarily aimed at a particular group of people. The teachers. Why?? Because they influence the minds of the rest. Therefore they are held to a higher standard in God's eyes. (zipped lips, key tossed) In the context of James, there were "regular joes" who, because of the scattering of their people, sought the prestige and power that came with teaching, just because they happened to be good speakers. God, through James, delivers a stern reprimand to them right in verse 1. (of course, that's our division of the letter into the subjects, but the point remains) Some of these people were even claiming to be greater than Paul!! (I mean, seriously!!?? Yikes!) Did any of them have a 3 day, life-altering encounter with the Almighty and get called into the Ministry?? I don't think so... But without the authority of an organized Church, these people became ambitious and prideful and decided to step up to positions they were not called to*. Now we can relate today to a certain amount of pride and potentially misguided ambition. This is what James was getting at with God's leading. (actually, that's another great comparison, God speaking through His chosen Prophets, Apostles, Teachers, etc...) We are his "mouth-pieces" to the World. (but I digress...)
Words influence people for either help or harm. And as, indicated above, they reveal our hearts. This is true whether they are spoken aloud or not. But when they are spoken, they reveal our hearts to others, thereby betraying us. These may come in some of the following ways --
Gossip -- Sharing information about others when we don't have the authority is just wrong. I've also heard it phrased as "sharing about something you don't have the authority to change." So sharing an issue about your child to a friend, school, or healthcare/mental health worker is not gossip. That is simply sharing necessary information or a prayer concern. Gossip is about the neighbor down the block that may be in a "questionable" situation of some kind. I've also heard it said that basic information is shared in love, but gossip is shared in a malicious attitude. It may reveal jealousy, pride ("at least I'm not like that"), revenge, etc...
Slander -- While sharing the truth (supposedly) about others is bad, lying about them is even worse. It doesn't even matter if you don't know that it's slander. If anything, that just compounds the issue. Lies are lies whether we are ignorant of them or not. Again, it comes back to the Golden rule. You wouldn't want anyone lying about you, why would you lie about someone else?? Especially if you weren't sure??
Lying/deceit -- Embellishment can be a good thing in literary applications like Historical Novels (a favorite genre of mine). But when it's used in lying, it's really not. A "fish story" can get out of hand really quickly. Remember what Mark Twain said, "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." There's also the issue of deceit, which may be a withholding of information. "Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies". (I'm pleading the 5th on that one)
Defensive -- We tend to find excuses for our behavior if we're ashamed or insecure about something. "The Devil made me do it." (no, really not) Or maybe it's that we intended good, but it ended up badly. "I did it for us, Baby..." (still no...)
Judgement -- We just covered this, so review the message from Wk. 5, posted late last week.
So, like my Message Intro. paragraph said, tiny things are not inconsequential, but may actually be the most important. The bits, rings, and rudders... At this point, Pastor Matt shared a story about one of his and his wife's first dogs after they got married. They had two large dogs for a while. One was a 100+ lb. Newfoundland. (Aaaawwww) The other was a nearly 100 lb. Golden Lab. that was a retired Guide Dog. (extra proud aaawww...) They got the retiree from a woman in their Church at the time. He had become sensitive to traffic again, and chose to walk around puddles; thus causing the woman to walk through them. The point being in that the fact that even after extensive time and training, even the best of us can get "off track" and need new guidance. (at least that sounds good, Pastor Matt wasn't super clear about it)
Digging back into the Scriptures, the message, however, is clear. Taming our tongues requires that we transform our hearts. If we turn to Mark 7:1-23, we see Jesus discussing clean vs unclean foods with the Pharisees and other teachers of the Law. They took offense to seeing the Disciples eating without having washed their hands. Jesus answers their offense by calling out their hypocrisy of worshipping God with traditions and rituals while their hearts were impure*. He pointed out that the body is basically just a tunnel for food and drink. (He even calls them "dull"!! lol) The heart is where the true measure of a person lies. Our fears, desires, pride, etc. vs humility, servitude, and love.
God is so real, that He meets us the most fully in the places that we truly are. His purpose is not simply "behavior modification" (as mentioned a few weeks ago), but about inviting us into a life of abundant love in Him. We may see celebrities posting one thing online, and then in the interview, saying, "No, that's not really me..." Okay, so someone else was using them as a ventriloquist dummy?? (again with the zippered lips) I don't think so... chances are pretty good that if you said something, you meant it. (barring coercion of kidnapping and guns or something)
So for "homework" this week... I know... Uuuuuuuuugggh!!!
Watch your words. What do they reveal about your heart??
Bring issues before the Lord. Admit mistakes. Ask Him to show you what you need to know.
Ask Him to be near and guide you. (He's always near, but it's our awareness and willingness for guidance that matters here)
Remember, it's in the tension of our lives that God works. -- God Bless!!
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Footnotes -- (I know, I put music first last week, oh well...)
What we say vs how we say it -- combined with the idea of behavior modification, which I didn't asterisk; I have this to say about that -- Those who know me in real life understand that I love the Lord, but know how to "keep it real". You'll just as quickly hear me drop an "F-bomb" as a word of Praise or song of Worship. I have a filter as needed, of course, but here's the thing... It's been psychologically proven that people who aren't afraid of a few "strong words" here and there are more honest and trustworthy than those who refrain. I mean think about it honestly, if you hit your thumb with a hammer, you're not likely to praise God in that moment, are you?? Nope!! You're going to use the harshest words you're in the habit of using. It's also proven that swearing in that moment actually relieves some of the pain. Do with this as you will, but I pray it doesn't deter anyone from continuing to read my stuff. I'm just being transparent and honest. I can only hope that's appreciated by my readers... Fun story from late yesterday afternoon, I was on MeWe and saw a meme of someone catching their pinky toe on the leg of the coffee table. The caption read, "That exact moment when you find out that you speak 17 languages!!" LOL
"Sticks and stones..." -- Trust me, if you'd been bullied as a child to even HALF the extent that I was, you understand what deeper of an impact words can have over any physical harm. Turns out there's just as many insecure kids who feel the need to make others feel worse in Christian Schools as in Public... :/
Ministry people are not called to -- This is something to be careful of on both sides of the coin. How many parents or grandparent's have had a goal of their children or grandchildren going into the Ministry because "that's what your grandfather did" or "you need to get your life right"?? On the flip side, how many out there listened, and ended up in positions they weren't called to by God?? Or followed their own misguided ambitions into Bible College and failed... We need to be careful not to have plans for our kids and grandkids (or ourselves) based on our own wishes or personal desires that we/others never achieved. We need to allow God to lead them into the lives He has for them/us. There is also a cautionary tale here concerning the importance of Godly leadership and assembly. Nothing against a walk in the woods, but do it AFTER Church!! (or even before, just so Church is involved in the plans)
Traditions and worship with impure hearts... there are a few things I could say here, but I'll be good and restrain myself to the Seasonal "elephant in the room", if you will. (even if you won't) lol We are all aware that Halloween is approaching at speed. Some of you, I'm sure, are stringently opposed to participating in a Pagan Holiday. Here's some "food (or candy) for thought" -- We celebrate Christmas and Easter without a second thought, right?? At least I'm sure most of you do... some may even know the passage in Jeremiah that speaks of not bringing trees into the house for decoration, "as the Pagans are wont to do... " Okay, so what do we do with the fact that God, in establishing the Laws for the Nation of Israel, literally "borrowed" the ENTIRE Sacrificial System from the Pagans?? Whether you view Halloween as a Pagan Holiday to be avoided or as a Harvest Festival for innocent fun, the point to any of it lies in our hearts, just as the motivations of our words lie in our hearts. The way I see it is this, if God was willing to take something Pagan because the people were already familiar with it, and turn the focus of it on Himself, then we're more than welcome to do likewise. Keep Halloween fun, not scary; that was my rule when the kids were little!! Additional fyi, when I was a kid, I wasn't allowed to Trick or Treat, not because it was "evil", but my mother simply didn't see the point of my going out and essentially "begging for candy". ;p
Music -- No rights, btw..
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