“If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” –James 1:26
I’ll be honest. This is one of the single toughest verses for me to live out. As a young preacher who feels confident in my gift I tend to be too confident in my speech. Sometimes my words get me in trouble. Other times my talking just fuels my ego. It is such an incredible balance to try to keep. I need grace daily for the things that I say and for the motivation behind those words.
Sometimes it’s the humor that gets me in trouble. Often it is because I try to interject humor into a serious situation rather than trying to show compassion. A lot of times it is because I try to be popular with humor, and I take things too far. Watching “The Office” always fuels a bit of that!
I guess my saving grace is that I do see myself growing here. I can tell that I have cut into this bad habit in a noticeable manner. Some people say it is just maturity and wisdom. I suppose that is part of it. Hopefully it is that my faith in Christ is working.
So how about you? In this world where we so often celebrate those who are the loudest, are you growing in bridling your tongue? Who is it that really fuels the fire of your speech? Are you handling them with more patience, respect, and ultimately, silence? Be patient. God will do his work, and often he’ll do it when we choose to be silent.
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1 comment:
True, silence is needed more often than not (Michael Scott sure could use that dose of reality!). But I tend to struggle more with the opposite--how to speak what needs to be said in the best loving manor (still taming the tongue, just without putting the silencer on it). I'm perhaps too cautious, to the extent of not saying something out of fear of hurting someone when it needs to be said (prophecy).
As usual, I'm appreciating a good study of James. I'll shut up now.
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