James 1:26-27
"If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."
Ouch!!! An unbridled tongue covers a lot of stuff. Gossip, slander, coarse language, sexual innuendo, criticism, lies, put downs, harsh words... You get the picture, right? James says what we say matters. Jesus died for us so that we could be holy as He is Holy. That means being set apart, and it's not always popular or easy to do. It means not following the crowd when the crowd is doing wrong. It means avoiding situations that might cause us to say or do things we shouldn't. Being holy means making godly choices even when your friends think you're being a prude. http://youtu.be/9Y8zP34AhuU - Refiner's Fire -
James 3:3-10
3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!
God tells us through James, the brother of Jesus, that it's very hard to control what we say. It's almost like our tongue has a mind of it's own. Sometimes, before we even realize it, we've spoken some harsh word to someone we love - a word we can never take back or undo. And have you ever slipped and said a four-letter word that would have gotten your mouth washed out with soap if your mom had heard it?
It's hard to keep our words encouraging and positive. Let's face it. Sometimes we bang a thumb or stump a toe or nearly have an accident of some kind, and before we can stop ourselves, that word just comes flying out!
Several years, my two older sons and I, were driving down the road, minding our own business when another car just pulled out right in front of us. I let out a word that I never, ever say (anymore) and I especially didn't ever use that "word" in front of my sons. It just happened so quickly! We were able to avoid a wreck and after I calmed down, I realized what I had done. I had said the "f" word in front of my boys! The "f" word! Oh no!!! Not that one!!! But there it was. It just hung in the air forever! I hoped and prayed that the boys hadn't heard my expletive, but when mom yells out a bad word, especially that bad word, trust me, they are all ears.
True enough, most people would understand my reaction, after all, my sons were in the car! That crazy driver almost hit us! The boys could have been seriously hurt! Any mom could surely understand... right?
But the question I had to ask myself was why did THAT word come spilling out of my mouth?
Jesus said that the words I speak come from my heart.
Matthew 15:18-20
18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”
Now how in the world did the "F" word get into my heart?
I can tell you exactly how. I heard that word so often in the office, with my friends, in movies, everywhere I went... My heart was being filled up with that stinkin' word and I didn't even realize it. It didn't seem like a big deal, until that DAY!
Do the words I say matter? Oh, yes, most definitely. My sons are almost 34 and 35 and guess what little part of their childhood they remember just like it was yesterday?
You guessed it. Mom saying the "f" word! What a great legacy I'm leaving.
I think it's pretty clear where God stands on the tongue. He tells us that the tongue is powerful, in fact it can bring death or give life.
Proverbs 18:21 The tongue can bring death or life;
James warned us of the dangers of an unbridled tongue.
James 3:6 NLT
And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
Are you still unsure how God feels about our words? Just take a stroll through Proverbs and see how often Solomon talked about the pitfalls of careless words. For an example, have you ever noticed that a person who is not necessarily very smart, can look very wise, IF he keeps his mouth shut. But the minute a fool opens his mouth, every one knows he's a fool. I didn't say that. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, said it. And just how classy does a woman look when she's spouting out foul language? Or a man either, for that matter. It's not cool and it's not smart. Solomon said so.
The book of Proverbs is packed with instructions on how to avoid the dangers of speaking without thinking. Summary:
Garbage in... garbage out.
We are instructed to guard our minds because when we fill them with garbage, i.e. bad language, T.V. and movies with sexual innuendo tossed about like it's nothing, crude jokes, racial slurs, words that hurt and tear down, that's what will eventually spill out at exactly the wrong time. We should avoid those things and keep them out of our homes. If we don't continually flood our brains with the "f" word, it's not likely to come spewing out when we least expect it.
My friend, Michelle, sent this article to me. The author was brave enough to say what I've been thinking for a long time. Why do we keep allowing ourselves to be conditioned into thinking all the bad language and sexual innuendo is okay for us to watch and hear? Can we honestly believe that we won't be affected by it? Worse yet, how come it's okay with us that our kids are watching this *#x%$#! Think about it! If a 13 year old came home from school and said that her teacher said the "f" word, wouldn't her parents have a fit? Yet they let that same child watch sitcoms on t.v. or listen to music that have bad words, use God's name in vain and filled with sexual content totally inappropriate for adults - never mind a 13 year old. In fact, they bring that garbage right into their very home for their daughter to enjoy.
I know what you're thinking. A few bad words here and there, no big deal. It's part of life. We hear those words all the time. Honestly, we can't come out of the world, even Jesus acknowledged that when He was praying for us.
No, we can't come out of the world. But our purpose while in this world is to bring glory to God. Jesus said that we are in the world but we are not to be of this world. We are to be holy, set apart. Just as He is holy.
That means we don't act like everyone else. We don't listen to the same music if it's filled with bad language and sexual content; we don't use words that lessen our Christian influence. And trust me, the "f" word takes away from your Christian influence. = (
John 17:13-19 NLT
13 “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19 And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.
Thank you, Mr. Groeschel! I hope your message touches lots of hearts and makes us a little more aware that words do hurt - they can change who we are.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What’s the Big &%#*! Deal about Profanity?
Craig Groeschel
Recently, when I asked a friend for recommendations of a good movie to rent, he responded enthusiastically, “Have you seen The Hangover? It may be the funniest movie I’ve ever seen!” Excited about a potentially great comedy, I asked a couple of my staff members about the movie. They too had seen it and said it was a riot and must see.
Since I wasn’t sure what The Hangover was rated, my last check point involved doing a little research to see if this was a movie for the whole family or one just for me and my wife to watch together. What I discovered floored me.
According to www.screenit.com, this comedy has more than its fair share of non-family-friendly scenes, intense language, and sexual situations. The rough spots include 91 different variations of the f-bomb (apparently it can function as noun, verb, adjective—maybe even a conjunction for all I know), 41 excretory words, 14 references to a person’s behind, 13 “hells,” and nine slang terms for male anatomy. To top it all off, this hilarious movie has 31 different versions of taking God’s name in vain.
When I told my friends and staff members that the movie had 91 f-bombs, which averages out to approximately one version of the “f” word per minute, they were all shocked. “Really? I didn’t even notice” was the most common response.
Really… you didn’t notice one “f” word each minute?
Please understand that I’ve seen my share of The Hangover-ish movies. As a child of the ’80’s, I grew up on a diet of movies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Risky Business, and Porky’s. It’s not that I’m particularly proud of this cultural education, but I’m no tee-totaling separatist who only watches Veggie Tales.
You might be like a lot of people who say, “Profanity, violence, and sex in the movies don’t really bother me. If it doesn’t bother me, it must not be that big of a deal.” Remember—I used to think this way, too. If you’re a Christian, though, wouldn’t you agree that there has to be a boundary somewhere? A way to discern what pleases God and moves us closer to him instead of farther away? And can we trust our own sensibilities to know what’s truly best for us? Can you really endure an onslaught of “f-bombs” in a movie and not get wounded?
Consider, for example, if I dropped 91 “f- bombs” in my sermon this Sunday, do you think that no one in my church would care? Chances are good that I’d stir up a bit of controversy to say the least. So if you agree that 91 is too many f-words for a Sunday sermon, then how about 50? Or 23?
What’s the magic number? Most people in my church would say that even one f-bomb would be too many—much less taking God’s name in vain. Yet the majority of them paid good money to be entertained by some form of media containing the same language or much worse within the past thirty days.
So let’s wrestle with this subject. If it’s not okay for me or you to say certain words or make particular jokes or references in church, then why would it be right for Christians to pay their hard-earned money to be entertained by something similar?
I agree that context makes a difference. You attend church (I hope) to worship God, hear his Word preached, and fellowship with others—not to be entertained. Similarly, you go to the movies or download Netflix to escape and enjoy yourself, not to meet God and get spiritually nourished.
There’s only one problem with this line of reasoning. Our lives are not so neatly compartmentalized just because we’re in a different setting for a different purpose. We aren’t machines with software programs that can sort and file things away, separate from all the other parts of the system. It’s tempting to think that what we watch on TV, see at the movies, listen to on our iPod, play on our gaming systems, and read before bedtime doesn’t affect us.
But they do. Each image and message we ingest may be a germ that will make us gravely ill, especially when combined with the many other sensory germs we’re taking in. If we’re serious about our spiritual house cleaning, then there must be no exceptions. We must take the images, language, and stories we allow into our minds and hearts very seriously.
If you don’t think there’s a problem with all the cultural influences that invade your life daily, chances are that you’re interpreting right and wrong through a distorted lens. Our church shoots videos every week to use in different areas of ministry. Every time one of our team members videos me, we hold up a white piece of paper in front of the camera before starting. This shot is called a “white balance.”
We do this each time because the camera can’t interpret all the colors until it sees true white. Without a white balance, a blue shirt could look grey or a red flag could appear orange. Once the camera sees true white, then it knows how to discern all the other colors.
Our approach to movies, TV shows, and the culture around us should follow the same pattern. Once you see pure white—or truth—suddenly you can see clearly that so much of what we take in is hurtful to us and displeasing to God. Instead of blindly absorbing whatever media you encounter, allow God’s Word and the guidance of his Holy Spirit to reset your white balance, to re-adjust your standard of right and wrong, and to live in a manner that brings glory and honor to God.
Craig Groeschel is the founder and senior pastor of Lifechurch.tv, the second largest church in the United States and the creator of the YouVersion Bible App. He and his wife Amy reside in Oklahoma with their six children. A bestselling author, this essay is an adaptation from Craig’s new book, Soul Detox: Clean Living in a Contaminated World launching May 7th.
from Christian.com
Publication date: May 6, 2012
The words we allow in our hearts may not seem like a big deal to you and me. Of course, that's the beauty of Satan's scheme. He is wise. He knows if we could see an immediate consequence for watching that movie filled with the "f" word, we probably wouldn't watch it. But instead, he lets the damage move in slowly, so slowly we don't even notice until it's too late. It's a slow fade - we get conditioned to hearing the bad words and inappropriate comments. It becomes common practice. Then slowly, before we know what's happening, we are using profanity ourselves or telling crude jokes, or making sexual comments with a co-worker. The crudity makes us laugh. It's fun to tease and flirt, maybe shock people a little. After all, it's no big deal, really, is it?
http://youtu.be/MaKDT_Cifec - Slow Fade - Casting Crowns
Prude is sometimes used to make a person feel stupid or uncool for not going along with the crowd. But I like the word. If someone calls me prudish, I just smile and say "thanks for noticing". = ) I don't mind being "uncool" or "prudish" if that's what I have to do to honor God. One time, I was even called a fanatic. And I say, yes sir! I am! I am a fanatic for Jesus! And proud of it. And if that guy knew Jesus like I know Jesus, he'd be a fanatic, too.
Here's a tip. If your friends think you're being a party pooper because you don't want to watch a movie that has inappropriate language and/or sexual innuendo, stand firm. You are being holy - no matter what your "friend" calls it. And God wants us to be holy.
No comments:
Post a Comment