day twenty four {james 3:1-12}

^{1-2 "}Don’t be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life.

^3-5 A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!

^5-6 It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.

^7-10 This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue—it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!

^10-12 My friends, this can’t go on. A spring doesn’t gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don’t bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don’t bear apples, do they? You’re not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?"

(MSG)

yep. the taming of the tongue verse. everyone's favorite. 

not. 

i came across this verse this morning and felt like my bible had grew hands and smacked me in the face. seriously. 

lately i have been such a grumpy gills. life is going so fast and i can't seem to keep up. God is doing so many amazing things in my life, but i keep focusing on the bad things. the days that don't go well. the people who seem to drive me bananas. 

and of course, i don't have the nicest things to say. 

no one likes these verses. this chapter for that matter. because despite what anyone will say, we all have those down moments. we say a bad word. some one upsets us, so instead of being angry in the way Christ instructs us too, we say mean and nasty things. talk about them behind their back. 

i think that what i'm learning right now, is that if i'm constantly having negative thoughts and ideas come out of my mouth, that's what's going to happen with my life. 

as mentioned before, God is doing beyond amazing things in my life (that i'll share soon!), and for some reason all i can do is complain about how busy i am (hello i haven't posted for two weeks).

and let's be clear here...this isn't just a chapter for people who cuss like sailors. it's for those of us who talk negatively about people. it's for those of us who, no matter what, can't find a nice thing to say. 

because we're human and it happens. 

i love the beginning of the chapter because it warns us that being a teacher is a big deal, we'll be judged differently. people will watch more closely. 

has anyone ever had someone tell them, "that's not very Christian of you, now is it?"

literally used to make my blood boil. i work in a restaurant, so i'm not exactly surrounded by heaven, and it get's hard. and there are tables that will make me want to quit my job. and yes, maybe sometimes i say something that isn't the words Christ would use. and then this statement comes out. 

at first, i used to get even more mad at the person saying it because i knew, they were only doing it to poke fun. they of course weren't a christian, so it was so judgmental to me. 

and then i began to think about it. 

because they're right. 

it's not christian of me to storm into the kitchen ranting and raving about the old lady who needed 50 napkins and 47 ice teas and only left me .50 as a tip. 

it's not christian to gossip about other co-workers. 

it's not christian to loose my temper every time we're out of something, and the customer gets mad at me. 

i'm being real here kids. 

it's hard. being in this world and not being of it. 

but we've i've got to find the balance. 

psalm 34:1

i will extol the Lord at all times,

His praise will always be on my lips.

all day every day. it's ok to get upset (that discussion is for another post, but look into matthew 21). but it's how we deal with that emotion. it's ok to admit something sucks. "dang this sucks". but it's not ok to say someone sucks, or blame people for the situation you put yourself in. 

catch my drift?

in high school i used to steer clear of this chapter because i only thought it had to do with cussing. 

woops, i was wrong. 

i think i've skipped over it enough times and God is almost giving up on pointing it out to me. 

found it God. 

today. i'm testing this out at work. extol: to lift up, to praise. 

how's your tongue?

all my love, 

meg

ps.

i will return emails from comments soon i promise. 

you all mean so much and your comments are so sweet!