May the mumbling commence!
I finish one of my favorite epistles only to go into another of my favorites – the book of James. James is special to the Church of the Brethren. Did you hear that? Did you listen? What, then, will you do about it? Read from the end of James chapter one:
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 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. (Verses 19-27)
Are you taking notes? Am I? That’s good. But it is not good enough. It is good to listen actively. Be quick to listen. Humbly accept the word planted in you – it is for your salvation.
No. It is not enough to listen and understand. We must do what the word tells us to do. Obedience is key. Otherwise, we will forget who we are and whose we are. We will become trapped by what other people think about us, and our self-image will be malformed.
Yes, listen intently to the word of God. Be slow to speak and slow to get angry. Speaking quickly and in anger leads to nowhere but bad places. Allow the word of God to saturate the attitudes of your heart and the thoughts of your mind. Ingrain them in your actions.
It is a little like the body control of athletes. I marvel at the fine-tuned control that athletes have over their bodies. It takes much time and practice to hone their body control. It takes strength, conditioning and flexibility. You and I do not see the hours upon hours of sweat, blood and tears. It takes sacrifice that is carefully planned.
It is this kind of training that James speaks about. Continue to do what the word of the Lord says. Once is not enough. Make sacrifices. Look after the weak and vulnerable in your land. Keep yourself from being polluted by the world.
While athletes have great control over their bodies and minds, Christians are called to have great control over their spirits and attitudes. All the rest of what is needed will follow a godly spirit and attitude. And people will marvel at our integrity and our love in action.
When people marvel, let us point them to who we are – follower of the way of Christ. It is not about me or you or even us. All that we do is meant to bring glory to God and good to our neighbors.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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