Devotional - March 1, 2023
James 3: 7-12 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Folks in these devotionals, I like to give you interesting backstory or historical tidbits to accentuate the Scriptures. The book of James doesn't offer a lot of opportunity to do so. His criticisms and comments tend to fit our situation without need for commentary. Today's text is no exception. One thing to bear in mind when James speaks about the tongue, James considers it a revelation of the heart. That is why we read the observation he makes about freshwater and saltwater. The spring is the inner conscience from which one's words flow. James is calling us to examine our heart through our actions. Do we do the things he mentions? If so, why? I think we all do so to some extent, so let's consider the matter further, rather than avoiding it. Why do we bear hostilities toward some people? Or, to the contrary, why do we make over others? Notice how James characterizes the tongue as being a "restless evil full of deadly poison." Not an attractive metaphor at all, but worth consideration nonetheless. Why are we restless at times? Why do we get all worked up or flustered when situations arise in our life? What produces evil in us. No sense in denying it, we all can be evil even in the most benign or subtle ways. Many times, it springs from places of pain or humiliation. We feel slighted or unappreciated. We are afraid of being wrong because we fear the consequences. It's sad that some of these things form early in our life. The poison enters our life early and then we continue to produce it, sometimes to the very end. Lent is a great time to change the course of our lives. A great time to acknowledge the poison that runs in our veins and shakes our restless soul. Often we can't fix the things that affected us, but we can be set free from them. The truths found in the Gospel have the power to do that very thing (John 8:31-32). You are a new creation (John 3: 3-6, 2 Cor 5:17). You are forgiven (Luke 6:37). The Holy Spirit indwells within you and gives you life (John 10:10, 14:17, 16:13). Jame's angst with the church is that they know the Gospel. They know what it can do, but are not living it. Maybe that is us too. We know what the Bible says, we can even quote it, but we do not let God change our lives through it. We hold on to the old and resist the new. We claim it, but do not receive it. If you feel that tension in you, remember the goodness of God (Ps 34:8). Just until Easter, let the Living Water flow through you (John 7:37-39). My guess is, you will continue to let it flow.
Pray with me..., Holy God, here I am. The good, the bad and the ugly. You see it all, but thankfully, Lord, through loving eyes. Help us, heal us, remind us of all Your goodness that fills us each day. Be with our loved ones, bless them in accordance to their needs. And bless our church, that we can be the people you call us to be. In Jesus name, Amen
God peace,
Pastor Brian
