"Taming the Beast"
Ezekiel 39:1-40:27
James 2:18-3:18
Psalm 118:1-18
Proverbs 28:2
Have your words ever got you in trouble?
"If anyone can control his tongue, it proves that he has perfect control over himself in every other way." James 3:2
Growing in Christ is such a matter of discipline. (I guess that's where disciple and discipleship come from!) I think there are times when we get frustrated with ourselves over the fact that God isn't changing us as fast as we'd like. We know and quote, "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature..." But still there are some issues that just haven't "disappeared" as fast as we'd like.
That's when we go buy the bumper sticker that says, "Please Be Patient, God isn't Finished with me yet." I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that statement, but where we get into trouble is in the fact that sometimes we're waiting for God to do some miraculous change in our lives without applying personal discipline. So, we give ourselves all kinds of grace over the fact that "oops, I slipped up again..."
The sad part is that we don't offer that same grace to others. We're quick to point out their mistakes. "...and they call themselves a Christian..." of James 3 warns Verse 1 warns about this: "Dear brothers, don't be too eager to tell others their faults, for we all make many mistakes; and when we teachers of religion, who should know better, do wrong, our punishment will be greater that it would be for others."
Often we like to deflect what the Lord is trying to do in our own lives onto others. If the Lord's telling me I shouldn't do a certain thing, it's in my nature to judge you, and let you know that you shouldn't be doing it either.
Our growth needs to be from the inside out. James 3:13 says, "If you are wise, live a life of steady goodness, so that only good deeds will pour forth." The way to tame our tongue is to discipline our heart. It's to allow God to cleanse us entirely of the ungodliness that lurks within.
"And by all means don't brag about being wise and good if you are bitter and jealous and selfish; that is the worst sort of lie. For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, inspired by the devil. For wherever there is jealousy or selfish ambition, there will be disorder and every other kind of evil." James 3:14-16
It's amazing how practical God's Word is. We focus so much on the outside, but the only way to see true transformation on the outside is to be transformed on the inside. It's in disciplining our thoughts and emotions, and allowing the peace-loving nature of Christ fill us.
Listen to God's plan for us:
"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness. Then it is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others; it is full of mercy and good deeds. It is wholehearted and straightforward and sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness." James 3:17-18
The only way our tongue can be tamed is as we grow steadily in the character-transforming discipline found in God's Word and allow his Spirit to fill our lives.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
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