Tuesday, August 29, 2006
I read this blog and it really spoke to me, hope it will to you too! it speaks about James 1:19-27. a bible study and self reflection on an anonymous christian member who is a mother.
it's rather lengthy, but take patience!
(taken from his-way.blogspot.com. )
James 1:19 Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. Let's think this one through. Look at the way our body's are made up. The first thing we see is people's mouths. Our ears are often covered or we just don't notice them first. Our anger is often invisible until we let loose on somebody or something. This verse is telling us to lead with our ears, in other words we should listen first. How often do we actually do that? Do we read between the lines when someone is talking to us? Do we hear what they are actually saying to us? Sometimes the things people say are really a cover-up for how they are feeling inside. If we pray for God to help us lead with our ears, then maybe we wouldn't be so quick to use our tongue in anger. There's another thought - we use our tongue in anger. So that means we let anger lead the tongue. So humanly we hear, but we don't LISTEN so we are tempted to get angry and then speak in anger (or sarcasm). Maybe this is why we get hurt by the things others say. If we lead with our ears (or listen carefully) then we will be able to better understand what a person is saying. God can give us insight to their hearts. Then the words that would come out of our mouths would tend to be more encouraging - meant to lift others up. If we've already listened and then spoken to their hearts, then the anger will naturally follow behind. We would really have very little use for it.
20Your anger can never make things right in God's sight. So, no matter how mad I get about something that doesn't make it right. Even if I have been justly hurt, anger still won't make things right. I guess that's why I need to listen with compassion.
21So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage, get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives. Humbly accept the message God has planted in your hearts, for it is strong enough to save your souls. What do I have in my life that is filthy and evil? If I go back to verse 19, then my mouth is definitely filthy and evil. Virtue means moral excellence and righteousness; goodness. So do I have any spoiled virtue? I know that I lack goodness a lot of days. I don't think I always have moral excellence, either. It also says the evil is cancerous. Cancer - a pernicious, spreading evil. Malignant cells that tend to invade surrounding tissue and metastasize to new body sites. Pernicious - Tending to cause death or serious injury; deadly; Causing great harm; destructive. So this evil will affect other parts of my life. This is serious stuff. It's deadly and destructive. It will spread. I really need to get ahold of my anger and my tongue.
22Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! I was just talking to someone today about weight. I have all kinds of knowledge about why I am as heavy as I am and why I can't lose weight. I have done so much research on weight loss. However, I haven't acted on what I know and therefore that's really the reason I can't lose weight. How many times do we read something in scripture and say, "Yeah, I really need to work on that" and then don't bother doing anything with it? We may know our scripture and even be able to quote it and therefore convince ourselves that we are listening. However, if we aren't acting on it, we are deceiving ourselves!
23Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, 24walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. How many times do we look in the mirror and we aren't happy with what we see? What do we do about it? Are we actually willing to be disciplined enough to change? I often look at myself in the mirror and I'm not happy about the weight that I've gained. However, I walk away and put it out of my mind because it's too difficult to deal with. In my mind, I'm still the slender person I was at 25 years old. I think I'm much slimmer than I am. I need to accept reality and see things for what they are.
25But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God--the free life!-even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action. So, apparently because I don't pay attention to what God is saying to me, I am a scatterbrain! The definition of scatterbrain is: A giddy or thoughtless person; one incapable of concentration or attention. A person regarded as flighty, thoughtless, or disorganized. I don't want God to think of me as thoughtless or flighty. I want to be respected by God. And the verse doesn't even say that I have to do it perfectly. It says that even if I catch a glimpse of what God wants, even out of the corner of my eye, if I stick with it then I am a person of action. I will find delight and affirmation in that action. Of course, I will. There is blessing when I am obedient to God's Word. Why didn't I think of that before? If I stick to the weight loss program, then I will be delighted. I guess we need to think about whether we are actually happy with the way we are (whether physically or emotionally) and be honest with ourselves. If we change the way God is showing us, then we will be truly happy and have the abundant joy that God has for us.
26If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are just fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. If I can't control my tongue, then the things I do for the Lord are worthless. Just now as I'm writing this, I'm trying to convince myself that I can still reach some people on my good days. But, that's not what the scripture says - it says my religion is worthless. People are watching us and waiting for us to make a mistake. So, we can quote all the scripture we want, but if we aren't living it and controlling the things we say, then we aren't going to get through to people. Maybe that's why I can't seem to get through to my kids sometimes. I can't control my tongue and they know that - therefore, what I'm saying to them is worthless. I'm only fooling myself - I certainly am not fooling them.
27Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles, and reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and refuse to let the world corrupt us. If I want my walk with God to be pure and lasting, then I need to reach out to others, including the loveless. I can't let the world corrupt me. Corrupt - Marked by immorality and perversion; depraved. Depraved - marked by immorality; deviating from what is considered right or proper or good; marked by moral corruption or perversion. I don't want to be perverted, immoral or depraved. I can't let what other people do or say to me affect my walk with the Lord. It's up to me to put my ears first and then my tongue and then my anger. Nobody can do it for me. I can make all the excuses in the world, but it still comes down to me. It's my responsibility. I have to make the change. Of course, God is always there to help me, but He isn't going to force me. God waits for us patiently until we draw near to Him. Today, Lord, I commit my life to You again. I renew my faith in You and my walk with You. I don't want to play the "blame-game" anymore. It's no one else's fault. Circumstances may affect my perceptions, but it's still up to me to overcome them. Lord, help me as I lean on You for strength. Help me to make the right choices. Help me to control my tongue and my anger and actually hear what people are saying, instead of just listening to the surface of the conversation. Lord, let me see into their hearts and have compassion for them. Thank You for being so patient with me as I mess up over and over again. Help me to get this right this time. I love you God!
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ã :x all the boys stomp your feet like this x: 3:30 AM ã
