Words

A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word! Proverbs15:23NIV

The words we use are very important in all aspects of our lives, and that includes the church. In fact, it matters even more in the church because it is by our words and actions that we are judged by those inside AND outside the church. We usually talk about the conversations we choose to undertake or join because they may not be suitable. But what about those answers we give to the words used by others? They are important too.

The verse above is very clear that we gain joy as we give our ‘apt reply’ when our friends talk to us. I suggest this is more than a ‘smart’ or ‘cleverly crafted’ or even ‘academic’ response. If someone is hurting, they don’t need a smart answer. If they are struggling with their faith, they can’t use a cleverly crafted reply. When a child in the faith needs advice or direction, the last thing they want is an academic treatise.

Giving an apt reply can be a gift from the Holy Spirit from you to that friend, for that time. But I found myself asking, how do I gain that insight to the much needed ‘apt reply’ because there are many hurting and needy people who need that ‘word in season’? I believe the true and good response we should give is governed by our ‘hearts being fully committed to the LORD our God’. May our Lord help us to be the carrier of that ‘apt reply’.

And may your hearts be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.” 1Kings8:61NIV

Everything!

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.                Proverbs 4:23 NIV

‘Everything’ is a very strong word, and overused at times but here it is used correctly. Whatever we do in life comes out of our heart. When we say and do good things, we are told we have a kind heart, but when we do and say hurtful things we are told that our heart is rotten to the core. In fact, these thoughts may not be said to our face, but they are felt.

We are told in Jeremiah 17:9 that “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure” so what can we do about it? “Above all else” is another set of strong words but they tell us, and that includes me, that over and above anything I might think, say, or do, I must guard my heart. That means keeping a very close eye on my words and actions. By the time my inner thoughts have shown themselves outwardly it may be too late to correct the failing in the eyes of my children, grandchildren and friends who might just be looking for a good example.

If we don’t show a good example, then the people who count in our life will find someone else who acts as they say and think with truth and integrity. I like the old example of the three gates that our words must pass through before they emerge from our lips. Are my words, TRUE, are they NECESSARY, and are they KIND? If we can do that we will have set a guard on our heart. Lord, make us faithful to be the example our family and friends need!

Words

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29 NIV

Most, if not all of my good friends, use language carefully. They use the words which convey meaning best and don’t waste time dancing around a subject with big words, or worse still, words that are on the edge, if not over the edge, of profanity and cursing. These are the actions and life of my friends, but what about those others who inhabit a place of church leadership? Not all leaders, but some will try to be so close to the unchurched that they want to be just like them. If that means the odd ‘soft swearword’ (if such a thing exists) is spoken, then so be it. If that kind of language is adopted by one or more of the leaders in a holiness church, what then? Do we ignore it and swiftly move on, pretending we didn’t hear? This behaviour disturbs me. Am I right to be disturbed, or should I accept this kind of talk from everyone, whether a professing Christian or not?

When it comes to the subject of ‘unwholesome talk’ there is another side to the verse. What about the talk that’s less than ‘whole’ and in fact by its tone is a stumbling block? Not only are we required to keep our tongues clean, we have a responsibility to live out the truth of Christ in our day to day existence. After all, our tongue has the ability to build up and encourage, or tear down and discourage, or worse. When Christians talk to each other, not only do we have to avoid gossip and bad language, we must choose our words and tone carefully so that the wrong message is not conveyed. The warning is that the tongue can corrupt our whole life, “for it is set on fire by hell itself.” May our speech be acceptable to our Lord and Saviour at all times, and in all circumstances to all people.

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. And among all the parts of the body, 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. James 3:5,6 NLT

Peace

It has been more than 100 years since the outbreak of WW1 which was touted as “The war to end all wars”. The commemorations are sobering and a reminder of the futility of war. The first day of the war saw a death rate of 450,000 in slimy mud which bogged down the living and engulfed the dead. Here we are 100 years later and North Korea is launching long range Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles with the capability of reaching the whole USA. Their next step is the addition of a nuclear warhead. All this time has passed, and we have not progressed. A wise man once said, “The one thing we learn from history, is that we don’t learn from history”. How true.

Our little planet earth has never been free of fighting and war since Cain and Abel fought out their differences in Genesis, and it has been going on ever since. The Bible is right up to date on this, and many other subjects, when it records these words in Jeremiah 6:14:

They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace. Has anything changed?

Our peace is founded on the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Messiah who assures us in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” As the nations of the world goad each other for supremacy, we have the assurance of that peace which can only come from God. Jesus also said in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” I don’t know about you, but that gives me real peace and great comfort.

But...

But you were washed clean, you were made holy, and you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. “I am allowed to do anything,” you say. My answer to this is that not all things are good. Even if it is true that “I am allowed to do anything,” I will not let anything control me like a slave. 1 Corinthians 6:11,12

In the verses just before this one, Paul lists the major sins which will keep us out of heaven, but somehow I don’t think those serious sins would apply to us. However, how about other sins which can be dangerous to the pilgrim, who is trying his or her best to stay close to the truth as shown in the life of Jesus, and the Scriptures? Is there a ‘but’ in our lives too?

We may not have an outrageous lifestyle, and people who don’t know us too well might even look up to us, but what about those smaller sins that get in our way? Our lives should reflect love in the way that God tells us through the Scriptures. I accept that we all love to a degree, but how far does it go? Do we love our Christian brothers and sisters only, and just enough that it makes a difference in the way others see us? Maybe it’s both what we say, and how we say it. Maybe, just maybe, in our efforts to be funny at the expense of others, we step over a line where non Christians would not go, and where they are surprised that we do. We may use the excuse that we are not doing any harm, and it’s only a manner of speaking, but I have to take note of these verses today.

I’m sure you have heard these words from a friend, “It’s just the way I am, and you have to accept me this way.” I have a surprise for you. No I don’t. This past few months have seen Christians speak and write very harmful things about other Christians who happen to hold a different political view. The UK Brexit referendum, and the USA Presidential Election has opened my eyes to what is seen as “acceptable talk”, and it certainly is not Christianity. It may be “Churchianity” but it is nothing more.

All I am asking (of myself too) is that we take more care of the things we say. Others are watching, and some are very young in the faith, or even being drawn by the Spirit to faith, and we are in danger of being a stumbling block by our language. It’s a choice, so I am asking that we all do a little better, and become more Christlike in our conversation. The difference could be startling in ourselves, and surprising in others!

For if you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even tax-collectors do that! And if you exchange greetings only with your own circle, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do that much. Matthew 5:46

They're Just Words

I have heard the phrase “they’re just words” said by a prolific swearer, in an attempt to explain or excuse his inability to speak without profanity. “It’s just street language” is another way they might reply. Then there are those who swear now and again because they can’t help it as the words just tumble out. Then the justification is that they have always been like that so they can’t stop it now. It’s too late to change. There is a third type of swearing person, and that’s the one who hardly ever uses bad language, and who will use it for shock effect, or to reinforce a point. That way, the point is not overlooked. It is calculated and used to make sure you pay attention.

The Christian doesn’t swear, and they don’t have to take the Lord’s name in vain either. The reason is that their tongue and lips have been cleaned up. An encounter with Jesus Christ can and will remove the habit.

However, there is yet another category of person we need to recognise. These are the ones who claim Christ as Saviour, but like living close to the edge in their use of language. So, words which rhyme with a curse might be used in its place. Then there has been no swearing, but the listener knows what is going on and the witness (if any was intended) is lost. And what about someone who is called to a sanctified life of holiness, but occasionally and deliberately uses certain words for effect which can have a double meaning, leaving the message of any Word/words less than edifying, and does not reflect a Godly example? Let’s leave it there, except for these few verses which should be our guide into everything we say…..

But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. Matthew 5:37

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

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;… James 3:8,9

Lads Mags

The UK News is running a story where one of the major supermarket chains has given an ultimatum to ‘Lad’s Mag’ owners to hide their front cover behind an opaque modesty sheet/sleeve, or they will discontinue selling them. They have until 8 September to think about it and comply, or have some fewer places to sell their goods. This brave but necessary action may spread to other ‘adult magazines’, and not before time.

We are good at changing names of things and activities to hide the reality. We make bad things sound so good and harmless. In this case, only a few years ago these publications would have been called pornography, then it was toned down to porn, then to soft porn, and now it is an even softer title of a Lads Mag.

We have done it before, and we have bought into it so easily. Paedophiles now have a mental illness, with a predisposed liking to younger people. Abusers have had a tough childhood, and were also abused in their own childhood. Sodomy became homosexuality, which became being gay, and now we are told that they can’t help it, because it is love. We have even gone as far as changing the natural law of nature, to redefine the bedrock of the family unit to give the same status to those who practice sodomy, as men and women in marriage.

I listened to an athlete describe how a top world class winner stays ahead. He said, achieving your goal is the culmination of many small changes in all areas of your chosen  discipline. Or as the old Scottish saying goes, ‘many a mickle maks a muckle’. True in saving money, and every bit as true when it comes to making changes in our laws and national morality. Don’t be fooled into thinking it won’t happen in other areas, and we will see it coming and put a stop to it. We didn’t see or stop the examples mentioned above, and there are changes waiting in the wings. Things like the loosening of how we presently see child abuse, promiscuity, polygamy, and multiple person relationships to name a few. I am convinced we will see more of this in time to come.

The church in general is not exempt from this trend of declassifying words. Here are a few that we have successfully dumbed down: creation to evolution, sin to a human flaw, virgin birth unscientific, resurrection impossible, marriage to any combination of man/woman, hell which may not exist, heaven is for everyone, justice which is only for really bad people and not us, wrath which God’s love would never allow, and love to cover God’s judgement for our sins, to mention just a few. I am sure you could add others. Are we really so blinkered that we don’t or can’t see what is happening?