One Saturday morning, I was lying in bed thinking about all that had transpired this past week. It had been an unusually busy week, and I had not stopped to digest it all. Life had been full, to say the least. Some matters had come to my attention that grieved my heart, our national news had been depressing, and I was unusually tired. I had allowed myself to get down and negative.
When I let myself get this way, I start to feel defeated. Once I finish my pity party, I begin to thank the Lord for all of my blessings. I start with my salvation, my wonderful husband and family, the friends he has blessed me with, and I end with the beautiful ministry that he allows me to serve.
How long does my pity party last? Usually, mine is relatively short-lived, but I have known people who live in a state of negativity and pity. They spend their entire lives searching for death in other people and life in general, and are determined to stay in a state of disgust. Most people seem to be somewhere in the middle.
What gives us away? Our countenance, our actions, but most of all our words. James 1:26 teaches us, “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is in vain.” When we are negative and talk about each other, we are not mature in the faith. We are still babes, and perhaps we should keep a pacifier in our mouths until we grow up.
Many people in our world walk around looking for death. Everything about our country is bad. America has its problems, but there is still a lot of good here. Perhaps those that hate her so much should go live somewhere else. We need to love our country and work towards making her better because we care about her and our children's future. As Christians, we are responsible for looking for the good in all things. We need to pray for our leaders and support those who adhere most closely to the values taught in God’s Word.
People in restaurants give the servers a hard time about the food. In grocery stores, we complain about the lines. In front of our children, we tear down the adults in their lives that we should be teaching them to respect. Some of the children talk about others with disgust, and we wonder why.
James is a wonderful book to study the tongue and the damage it can do. James 3:8 states, “But the tongue can no man tame, it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”
In our society, the tongue lashes out in person, on the phone, in text messages, and with the notorious social media. The barrage of text messages, chats, and media posts has hurt many young people. Most of the time it is not face-to-face. People talk by text, argue by text, attack by text, and even break up by text. Some things may be said better in a letter because of special circumstances, but we need to communicate everything in a spirit of love. We cannot convey our hearts or our tone within social media or texts.
Many things would never be said if we could only say them face-to-face. The tongue was hard enough to tame before all of the different avenues of communication developed. James wrote his letter when communication was limited to face-to-face or by the written word. It was a lot of work to write a letter in 60 AD.
Often, when something is bothering me, I write a letter. I don’t usually end up giving it to anyone because, more often than not, it helps me think things through and move on. Sometimes the Lord convicts me that I have made myself an idol and that I need to get off my high horse. I realize there are times that situations need to be dealt with, but we have to tread carefully. We need to ask ourselves, “Why am I angry?” Am I angry because my Lord was hurt, or because I felt attacked? Good question! Most of us would have to say that we are angry because someone didn’t bow to our idol of self. Just as Nebuchadnezzar threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the furnace for not bowing, we throw others into our furnace of fury.
Why are we negative? Why do we spew out death wherever we go? If we are a Christian, if we are God’s child, this should not be. James 3:10 -11 reads, “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?” We have forgotten who our Father is. Our God is the creator of the universe, and there is not a problem he doesn’t know about. There is nothing we are facing he can’t handle.
It is sad that I have to learn these things at my age. Lately I have become more appreciative of those around me. I have learned that when I am critical of other Christians, I am critical of God’s children. None of us are perfect, and there are ways we can all improve, but I am so thankful for each person in my life.
We are not going to win others to Christ or influence babes in the faith if we have a critical spirit. Isn’t it time to do something about it? We can’t change others, but we can change ourselves with God’s help. Once we allow God to change us on the inside, our whole perspective changes. Our world becomes a lot brighter!
The best time to start is now!
