Message; Talk is Cheap, and all too Often: Ugly!
If life were not filled with the challenges that you and I face every day, perhaps we would possibly come closer to the benchmark expressed in today’s Call to Worship that Sher read for us earlier. Please let me briefly revisit Psalm 133, which is;A song of ascent, by David. Or sung by all of Israel when they were ascending up to the Temple Mount to worship our God.
1 How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.
How wonderful it would be if all of humanity could come together and sing, work, or just live, in perfect harmony! The problem is, life is not a 1970’s Coke-a-Cola commercial where the world comes together at a Christmas Tree to share in song and solidarity.
I am sorry, I have just betrayed my advance age with a blast from the distant past. Here’s the jist of what I am going to share with you today in a nut shell. We Christians do better when we praise in public, and critique in private. That sarcasm, gossip, and non-edified, betray our innermost, arrogance, selfishness, and fears.
When we go for the base-line in our speech, or instant gratification from gossip or a joke, we endanger the very things we have professed to serve and advance. Namely our Lord’s agenda in the world we live in. For confirmation of my words, please let me read for you some instruction from James, an early Church leader and a brother of our Lord. Reading from James 1: 26-27;
26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.
*Please let me interrupt James to say; nothing says worthless like the garbage that comes out of our mouths at times of trial, anger, and hurt. It’s not the words so much as the emotional and spiritual anarchy that is reflected from the person talking. The words spoken burn like acid over time, and they sabotage the hopes for a better life by desensitizing both the speaker and the listener. James will now refocus us Christians from big talk to real living. On to verse 27;
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.
And when we begin to do that, perhaps we will be well down the road the Prophet Micah directed us to follow. Quoting from Micah 6:8;
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
And when we begin to tame the tongue, we open up space in our heads for hearing what God has to say, teach, and direct for the betterment of our lives. Instruction like what God says in Isaiah 56: 1
1 This is what the Lord says:
“Maintain justice
and do what is right,
for my salvation is close at hand
and my righteousness will soon be revealed.
The more we walk humbly with, and then listen to our God, the more we are prepared to hear the words of our Lord, the promptings of His Holy Spirit, and the more we take to heart His instruction. Our God speaks directly to us thru James in this age and time. To help us grow stronger in the Lord and to make you a better you by growing in Him. And the message is, watch your mouth. Reading from James 3: 3-12;
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
*Interrupting James to say; wow, and owe some more! If you were raised in a family where having a quick tongue was prized, and you are accustomed to nuking people with your whit, mouth, and sometimes intellect, … you know exactly what kind of hell can be initiated by your mouth. And all too often you are forced to burn with your intended victims when your words boomerang back in your face. I think that’s what James is getting at, plus the fact that you can’t take back your words, even when you are really sorry. Now verse 7;
7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
**Cutting in again to say; but we certainly must make an effort. And with God, all things are possible. As the old adage goes; those who live by the sword, die by the sword, the tongue offers the same fate when ill-used. Sin and death. James goes on to explain more in verse 9;
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
I used to work with a guy who was a prominent leader in a local Church. The challenge for him arose because during the week he was a worldly guy who sunk to the base-line of acceptable and even unacceptable behavior. And let’s face it, in the world of Aircraft Depot Maintenance, that’s pretty low! In one sentence he would go off bla-bla-bla (making one wonder if he kissed his family with that mouth), and in the next sentence, he would talk about the new parking lot his church was putting in.
There is so much there to get lost in, and my associate actually did get lost. Like so many of us on any given day, my friend was lost in his thoughts, values, and walk in the Lord at times. Like we all can when we are double minded, and conflicted in purpose.
My friend was nothing out of the ordinary. Regrettably, and nothing new either. We all struggle with living in the world without becoming like the world, and in our Lord’s time, the discussions of appropriate and inappropriate behavior, what was cleanliness and what polluted the body, were always ripe for debate and commentary.
You see, like many of us today, the children of Israel were sincere about pleasing God. Worshipping Him, and honestly trying to keep the laws of Moses. Those laws only began with Ten Commandments, but there were 613 Mitzvah or laws. 365 negative or you shall not…. (one for each day of the year), and 248 positive or you will do… (one for every major bone or organ of the body).
The goal, the standard, “the mark”, was not to sin, ever, and to remember that ideal, on every day of the year. Then do positive, good, life affirming actions with all of your being.
The problem with that was that the Pharisees, Rabis, and Leaders of Israel added even more compliance for good measure. They began demanding ritual cleaning before eating. Some even were more demanding on that than praying before eating (which really does make food kosher or clean for eating, faith wise!). It was under this premise; that the disciples hadn’t washed before eating that the Pharisees called out our Lord to explain. Leading us back to today’s Message Reading; Matthew 15:10-20,
10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
*Hence, today’s Message title; Talk is Cheap, and all too Often: Ugly! On to verse 12;
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
*Interrupting the narrative just to say; The plants not planted by God are man-made junk. And that junk is all around you. We see it today, any time a church, or person decides to impose non-biblical rules on other people, or even an us verses them mentality. That’s why there was a Reformation 500 years ago to reset our Church on the right track. Because if God didn’t direct something, it will pass away! Now verse 15;
15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”
16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
Owe, and ouch some more! If your language is beginning to reflect the society all around you, you are not alone. We all must strive to rise above the pollution that surrounds our very being. Too include; vulgarity (which means common language), babble or speculation based on fear, and then gossip (which is second hand nonsense), or just outright death, because that’s what sin is.
In fact, if you take the time to look around, you will see a lot of meaningless talk that is spewed out of the mouths of all of us on many an occasion. Even in our claims to love others and follow the Lord are often cloaked with words that mean little to the person talking, but are muttered all the same.
Reminding me of what our Lord said about the worship and big talk of the so-called religious people of His day when Jesus spoke of the hypocrisy of people’s worship. Reading from today’s Prelude from the Gospel of Matthew 15:7-9;
7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.
That hurts, because it could easily apply to any of us when we say we love God in one breath, and then profess our hatred for another human being in the next.
In fact, the heart of the issue of today’s Message is more than the bad things that come out of our mouths, because those words are only symptomatic of what is going on inside of many of us. The war within. No, the real battle is as author Joyce Myer points out in her book; “Battlefield of the Mind”. And I would add the world war that is ongoing in our very souls. The stuff that our Lord spoke of, that comes from the heart. That’s really what defiles us. The junk I say, is a reflection of the present battle status right now.
For our hearts, minds, and souls, to be healed and cleaned up, we must begin to trust in our Lord. Trust that God will really do what He says He is going to do. (Save us, from us) Then to begin to Love God with all of our being. And there will be room for the Lord because we have begun to clean house, and rid ourselves of all that stuff that leads to death.
So how do we move away from the things that have reeled us in and held us addicted over time? I think the first thing to do is to realize that lying, bragging, slandering, speculating, and gossiping, not to mention common language like vulgarity, and lewdness, are all reflecting the;
- Vacancy left in us when we have kicked God out
- Emptiness that exists when we are going it alone
- Worthlessness of tarring down instead of building
- Temporariness of building without our Lord
- Hopelessness of going it alone in life without God
In sort when I am not building up in healthy ways with God those people in my life, when I am not loving God with all my being, chances are the stuff coming out of my mouth resemble all that junk mentioned earlier.
As we all pray for a closer walk in the Lord and with those of our family in the Body of Christ, my hope and prayer are that all of us begin that journey to replace the junk of the world with the substance and love of our God. As we do, may the words of the Psalmist become clearer and more a part of each of us. Please let me conclude by reading Psalm 67;
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us-
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Amen!
Benediction; Romans 11:33-36,
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.