Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Taming the Tongue Tuesday!



We're letting God's word do the talking.
James 3: 9 - 18

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, 
and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 
Out of the same mouth come
praise and cursing. 
My brothers, this should not be.

Can both
fresh and salt water flow from the same spring?
My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?
Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

(I don't normally quote the Message...but it's great here...)
Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? 
Here's what you do:
Live well,

live wisely,

live humbly.

It's the way you live,
NOT THE WAY YOU TALK, that counts...

mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. 

Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. 

Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn't wisdom.  

It's the furthest thing from wisdom -
 it's animal cunning, devilish conniving.  
Whenever you're trying to look better than others or
get the better of others,
things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats.


Real wisdom, God's wisdom,
begins with a

holy life and is characterized by

getting along with others.

It is gentle and reasonable,

overflowing with mercy and blessings,

not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced.

You can develop a healthy, robust community 
that lives right with God and enjoy its results 

only if you do the hard work of getting 
along with each other, 
treating each other with dignity and honor.

Wow! what would happen if we ACTUALLY did that at church, home, school and work?
People would beat a path to us trying to find out why we live the way we do.

Peace

6 comments:

nilliebillie said...

I'm the only one who commented. This is hard to swallow. I need to print this out and post it at work. BTW, you and Brysen should come over more, Nick had a blast Saturday afternoon. Thanks for bringing my stuff so quickly. I didn't mean to keep you from other engagements.

Beth in NC said...

The book of James always convicts me. My pastor quoted Saint "somebody" (ha) on Sunday and said, "Preach the gospel and use words if you must" - something like that. In other words, preach the gospel through your example and actions in life.

Great post as always!
Beth

really.truly said...

I love your taming the tongue Tues....hits me hard each time. Good stuff.

More Than Words said...

Ahhh...so true...so true...

Lorrie said...

Sorry...it hits me hard too! I think it's because I see how my tongue really and hurt folks and I've been hurt by other's tongues...I just keep pointing three fingers back and myself while one's pointing towards you.

Lorrie said...

Sorry...it hits me hard too! I think it's because I see how my tongue really and hurt folks and I've been hurt by other's tongues...I just keep pointing three fingers back and myself while one's pointing towards you.