Everybody Has Something To Say!!
Posted on December 28, 2018 by America's Keswick in Freedom Fighters
“But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not be this way.” James 3: 8-10 (NASB)
The day I got a cassette player that could record my voice was the day that changed my life forever. By putting a microphone in front of my face and letting me say whatever came to my mind was like putting a loaded M-16 in my hands, giving me unlimited ammo, letting me aim at whatever I wanted to and firing at will. As time went on, I had gotten into Citizen Band radio (boy was that ever a mistake), then I was allowed to publicly speak (ever hear me freestyle?) but now, as technology has changed things, I have a new platform to express myself…. Social Media. You might think I mean Freedom Fighters, but with Bill Welte as my editor discretion is the better part of valor…anyway.
Now, along with the advent of social media has come a new vocal apparatus …the fingers on our hands (or our thumbs for you cell phone enthusiasts). And with our fingers (and thumbs) comes all kinds of blessings and curses. We seem to fall into this false sense of security that, well, we’re right to type and think what we type and post and since we can do this from the safety of a chair, no one is gonna give us a good sock in the jaw. Ha-Ha. Too bad that the person reading your post also feels that they can type and think what they type and post and rebukes you.
Now these self-righteous acts of rebuke may bring someone else along who supports one of the two views expressed, or even worse, has one of their own and a bad thread of ukpnkind words begins to form. It might fly in Secularland but I am seeing more Christians taking shots at each other all because “DEUS VULT” (God wills it). Should this really be? Well, it’s time to open and turn the pages of our Bibles with those fingers and head to the third chapter of James.
Most people wanna be heard and yet James will urge us to consider the power of our tongue, but I’m gonna stretch it to our use of words. Words can build up or words can tear down but for the most part words display what’s in our hearts. The first eight verses of James may deal with the tongue but, once again I’ll stretch it to what outlet we choose to channel our words with. Social media can be just as much a wildfire as being given a microphone because once those words reach an audience, they get really hard to unread or unhear, so ya gotta understand the hypocrisy of your expressive outlet.
What James 3:9-10 tells us is not only do we use our words to bless or curse but to do this shows that there is duality in the Christian that shouldn’t be. We have to notice that he is speaking to “My brethren” or “My brothers.” Basically, this duality is inconsistent with a life that has been redeemed by Christ. As the chapter goes on, James will give us a comparison between what is worldly wisdom (see verses 15-16) and what is Godly wisdom (see verse 16-17). So, for the Christian, verse 18 needs to have its place in our expressive outlet…” And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
Now don’t go thinking that I’m some kinda saint when it comes to social media…far from it. I get my share of rebukes every now and then, but the one thing I do notice is how we are using social media as an accountability upon others. We seem to practice what Jesus instructs us to do in Matthew 18:15 through the expressive outlet of social media. It’s even worse when we know that we can’t go to the entity itself, so we just let our opinion fly right into the fan and the next thing you know we’ve just splattered our “restless evil” all over the place.
I’ve read somewhere that some fable-teller named Aesop once said, “Our speech and the type of wisdom that governs our lives displays the state of our heart.” Ya gotta give that a healthy nod of agreement so it begs the question… What governs the state of your heart? If it is what the world offers, so be it but if your heart has been truly redeemed then let that come through. And remember, even a picture can paint a thousand words… so be careful. Amen?
Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) has been married for 25+ years (Kathy), has a married son (Kevin) and a daughter in college (Karen). He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008.
The Daily Bible Reading: Revelation 1-5 | You can download our 2018 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here
Daily Quote: “Imagine if you will this diagram: A bicycle chain connecting heart and mouth. Our mouth is driven by what preoccupies our heart. Bridling our tongue means dealing with our heart first—not merely avoiding blurting out unkind words.” — Scott Morton
This Week’s Verse to Memorize: For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. Galatians 5:5