This may cause discomfort and/or conviction...
I am reading through James in my personal time. I could not even get out of the first chapter with being convected by nearly every verse. There is so much truth embedded in James that it could make your head spin while reading.
I wanted to share some verses that really stuck out.
"26. If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
James 1:26-27
How many times are we guilty of flapping our tongue like it is going out of style?? We can babble on and on about how we feel about things and say all sorts of evil about others. James says that if we do not control out tongue, we have a worthless religion. I think the tongue does more damage than any other part of the body.
Maybe this is why so many people view Christians as hypocrites. We preach love and justice, but spatter hatred and malice from the pulpit and TV. I think James realized the importance of words; he would not have made such a bold statement if he did not fully believe in them.
But, there is more than just controlling your tongue.
There is importance in action as well. James says that helping widows and orphans is true religion; Jesus spent a great deal of time helping others.
Maybe it is time to get off the soapbox and into the world.
Just some thoughts swimming through my head this afternoon. Hope it helped/challenged someone out there
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