Good morning! Bright and sun shining! But chilly! And wet! That was lots of rain yesterday! But, I got to stay in and get lots of work done! Off to Ithaca later this morning for a short (6 miles?) walk in Treman Park, part of the Finger Lakes Trail!
This chapter is about two ways of living our faith. One is controlling our tongues- something James has mentioned before, and the other is having/showing wisdom. He begins by saying those of us that are in the church are held to higher standards and people watch and hear how we act (v 1). Fair or not? We are all going to make mistakes, but we should strive to stay in a positive direction and make corrections- as a bit and bridle help a horse make corrections.
Our tongue is a powerful "weapon" at times. As a horse that is controlled by a bit and a huge ship that is controlled by a relatively small rudder, those of us that can control our tongue are more spiritually mature and able to control our entire bodies (vv 3-4). The old children's song, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is quite wrong! Words do hurt- and they leave long lasting marks of pain! Broken bones can heal, cuts can get better, but words of hate last a lifetime. I have had many kids go through my doors with pain from things said to them by their parents, their churches, their "friends." Wild animals are easier to tame then our tongues (v 8)! That's a profound statement, and somewhat accurate! here is a story about a woman who came to John Wesley once and said that she had come to a conclusion what her gift from God was. She said that her gift was to speak her mind. John Wesley responded, "I don't think God would mind if you buried that talent!" I know I am guilty of speaking my mind, and I know it hurts others at times. I haven't yet learned to control my tongue! So hard to do! Why is it difficult for us to control our tongue?
I have said to some of my kids, "You kiss your mother with that mouth?!" (v 9- 10). We can praise God in one moment and then say something awful the next! Why does that happen? We can switch form our highest calling (worship of God) to our lowest evil (saying hurtful things) in an instant! We should focus on worship of God and praise of things around us at all times. It is hard though!
Wisdom is not simply head knowledge, it is using that knowledge for good and upright living (v 13). Our ability to have and use wisdom is echoed in our actions and our behavior. And we do these things humbly, not for attention. If we are wise and like to show off that wisdom for our gain and our promotion, then, James says, it is not wisdom from God but "wisdom" from Satan (vv 14- 15). Is it easy to see the differences between people with Godly wisdom and "Satanly" wisdom?
This was a short chapter with some easy to understand concepts! As many of you commented yesterday, James is much easier to understand than Paul! I really like James' style of writing and his ease of understanding! Definitely some "preachable" things in his writings!
Have a good weekend and enjoy the nice days we are going to have!
Shalom+
Pastor Paul
James nails it when he talks about the tongue. "It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." Yes! But what comes from the tongue starts in thoughts.
ReplyDeleteAs I have told you, my father was very abusive. His abuse was emotional, no one ever saw bruises but they were there. He ended up with three children who couldn't stand him and had different outlooks on the world than they would have had. My mother's father was a very gentle, kind man, and I often wondered how she could watch what was happening in our house and allow it. It took a very good counselor to help me understand. I tried to turn things around with my own children. I tried to make decisions with kindness and was so careful what I said to them. Counselors have helped me realize that at some point abuse stops when one person says "enough".
I have a brother with 2 children and only 1 son speaks to him. I have a sister with 2 sons and none of them have anything to do with each other. My brother and sister don't have anything to do with each other. It's sad what the tongue can do. We should all be mindful.
I'm not saying this to say "poor me". No way- It's true that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I hope I am a kind person. I try to be.
Thanks for sharing what must be a painful part of your life, Cathy. I had great parents and my brothers and I get along quite well, but I have had experience with many of my kids at school that have strained relationships with parents/ family members. I can't even begin to imagine the pain that you and they experience.
DeleteThe tongue is such a small part of us, yet can do so much damage!
Learning from the past is good and try to be a better person.
Peace
Thanks Cathy
James is saying the think before you speak, your words can be very destructive . I know friends who have lost some of their closest friend due to words they have said. I like how James says the tongue can be like a flame of fire. Our words can be so hurtful to others. I'm sure that even Christians have said words that have lost some non believers to turn away from God by their words.
ReplyDeleteChristians are some of the most hypocritical people I know when it comes to words!
DeleteThanks Clara
Your experience is very sad, Cathy, and pulls at my heart! Thank you for sharing!.
ReplyDeleteI thought it interesting that in Chapter 2, which I read but forgot to comment on - James tells us not to favor the rich - however, he tells us not only NOT to favor the rich but WHY we shouldn't favor the rich - stating all that is wrong with EVERYONE who is rich. Words? And sortof cruel ones to boot. I always think it strange that most biblical stories tell us - rich is bad, poor is good - which, of course, is not true at all. There are good and bad all up and down the spectrum. If only I could always control my tongue. And, Cathy, I agree - if we didn't think it then we wouldn't say it. But sometimes my reaction is quick and I have said it before I even had a chance for a thought to form. I think my take away from this reading is vs. 13 - which my commentary reads "Three elements of a true teacher are expressed by three words in this verse, knowledge, meekness and show. Show by his good conduct in life. We cannot teach well what we cannot practice in our own life." I think that pretty much wraps it up - we cannot talk the talk if we do not walk the walk. I do believe, Pastor, that we (meaning Christians) are held up to a higher standard and criticized more. Right or wrong it happens - however, in reading vs. 13 I guess that makes sense!
Loved you pics of Ithaca!
I don't think rich is bad- I think rich people can do bad because they think they are better. All people have value, and people tend to think rich people are better than others though.
DeleteWe all tend to talk before we think. Why is that? Maybe part of that is we don't really like silence and think time is silent time! Practice makes perfect (or at least gets us closer to perfection!).
Thanks Donna
I put my first post on to demonstrate how hurtful our words can be. In thinking about it more, I think what we should take away from James is to be careful of our words. Certainly we can use our words in a positive way. We can praise someone, compliment someone to build them up and of course, apologize when we do say something that we shouldn't. I think my first post was very negative.
ReplyDeleteCathy I grew up thinking everyone had kind parents because I was lucky enough to have a very loving mother and father. When I married my husband I could not believe the hurtful things my father in law said to him. I don't think your message was poor me it spoke of the power of our tongue. My husband is so kind like you are!
ReplyDeleteLike I said before I do have to watch my tongue. I think I have gotten better over the years. I really TRY to think for a minute before I speak.
I may have mentioned before that I subscribe to Maria Shrivers Sunday Paper. It is a free email of inspiring messages. Today she spoke of we all need Ted Lasso in our lives. For those of you who don't know it is a show on Apple TV that our kids turned us in to and we really enjoy it. Maria said, it's a show that inspires, makes you feel good and offers a sense of hope. It really does and who couldn't use a little of that💓
Good point Cindy. I used to think (like you) that everyone had good loving parents (and two of them) because I did! Boy, was I wrong!
DeleteThink time is good. At school, if a student didn't know an answer immediately, I would say, "Take some time, think about it, we will come back to you." We all need that time to think and compose!
Thanks Cindy
Thanks for sharing a difficult story Jack. Words do hurt and we say things that we don't think about. I think words hurt more, because physical things can heal (usually) and we "forget" about them (to a degree), but the words haunt forever.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jack