Careless words
The letter of James from which we heard once again this morning (3:1-12) offers us, as we’ve thought in the past couple of weeks, some valuable insights into how we should live as Christians, and this morning it continues this theme as we are warned of the dangers of using our tongues unwisely.
I’m sure that most of us will recognise the truth of the warnings contained in the letter – ‘How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire !’ we read, and then it goes on ‘And the tongue is a fire’. Later it says, ‘With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth comes blessing and cursing.’
We will probably all have been victims of a tongue lashing from someone, and we may well have offered a few ourselves at times. On many occasions those tongue lashings will have been unwise and unhelpful, and maybe totally unjust. James is warning us to follow the example of Jesus, treating everybody with respect and care – and whilst not being afraid to say what is right and just, remembering also that at times it is best to say nothing.
An elderly lady was well-known for her faith and for her boldness in talking about it.
She would stand on her front porch and shout "PRAISE THE LORD!"
Next door to her lived an atheist who would get so angry at her proclamations he would shout, "There isn’t a Lord!!"
Hard times set in on the elderly lady, and she prayed for GOD to send her some assistance. She stood on her porch and shouted "PRAISE THE LORD. GOD I NEED FOOD!! I AM HAVING A HARD TIME. PLEASE LORD, SEND ME SOME GROCERIES!!"
The next morning the lady went out on her porch and noted a large bag of groceries and shouted, "PRAISE THE LORD."
The neighbour jumped from behind a bush and said, "Ah! I told you there was no Lord. I bought those groceries, God didn't."
The lady started jumping up and down and clapping her hands and said, "PRAISE THE LORD. PRAISE THE LORD ! He not only sent me groceries, but He made the devil pay for them !"
Those who are clever with words can often win arguments regardless of who is right and wrong – but as Christians we must constantly remember that our tongues have been given as one of the many gifts of God – the gift of speech has been given to enable us to proclaim God’s glory and share God’s love.
And so we must be careful of our words – Abraham Lincoln once said, ‘I would rather remain silent and look like a fool, than open my mouth and remove all doubt.’ Somebody else said, ‘sometimes we proclaim the good news best with our mouths closed.’ There is a right time to be quiet, perhaps to pray, perhaps to do something, perhaps just to seek God’s guidance about something.
Too often perhaps we are guilty of doing and doing all the time, and not allowing enough time for reflecting. It is important as a Church and as individuals that we allow time in our lives for God to actually speak to us. Many people have become so concerned and busy with doing things, with all of the right intentions to begin with, that they have actually forgotten what those right intentions were.
One of the reasons why it is so important to spend time alone in prayer and bible study is that through those things God can speak to us – inspired by his thoughts we will be better able to serve him as he wants and needs.
But the fear of saying something wrong is also one of the main barriers people quote for not talking more about Jesus – maybe people are scared of getting something wrong, maybe of not being able to answer a difficult question or there is a fear of being rejected, or perhaps setting themselves up to be knocked down with a charge of hypocrisy.
All of these things are valid fears, but they are not reasons to say nothing at all. The evangelist J John said ‘we should not be worried about what we do not know, but we should share what we do know. Jesus taught profound truths in very simple ways.’
People don’t generally respond to clever words, or to people who seem to know everything about a subject, they respond to people who are excited, people in whom they can see a difference. As Christians today we need to recapture that excitement, be prepared to show to people a vision of something better for themselves, for the community and for the world – that is how bold we can be if we have God on our side.
On Friday in school I played a little game with the children in assembly – a guess my job game – I asked what I would be if I wore a big hat, and there were various answers, and then what if I wore a uniform as well – again various answers, and then the next clue said I worked in a station, and finally I sometimes carry handcuffs. People recognised a policeman.
And then there was another one who wore a big hat, who dressed in a uniform, who worked in a station, but this time instead of carrying handcuffs, they got into a big red engine – a fire engine.
And I’ll just tell you one more – this person runs around a field a lot, and someone guessed a farmer, but then I said the person passes and kicks a ball, and we had a guess of a footballer, and so I mentioned an oval ball – so it turned to rugby player, but wanting to be slightly more specific I mentioned that this person also wore a blue jersey and played for the best rugby team in the world – so it was obviously a Cardiff Blues Rugby Player !!
But the point of the assembly was a response to Jesus’ question in today’s gospel (Mark
Being charitable, loving, caring, helpful, careful with our words and so on, are all gifts and qualities that we must be displaying – but they are gifts that many other good people will also display, but there are a few other things that we must also display and these are what must separate us out – firstly, we must be prayerful. In other words we must be in touch with a God who makes a difference in our lives, a God who supports, strengthens and sustains us. We must spend time in prayer and bible study alone, and with others, as we learn more about God and his love for us.
Secondly we must be thankful; thankful for all of the many gifts that God has given and continues to give us day by day. That thankfulness must be reflected in the joy that we show in our lives – the kind of joy that says to people that even when we’re going through a difficult time, we still have hope and faith.
And thirdly we must use our mouths to proclaim God’s glory and his love. We must be ready and willing to tell people about Jesus who, through his sacrifice on the cross offered to us the most incredible display of love, and who, through his resurrection has conquered death once and for all.
Jesus said, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.’ AMEN
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