Jump Start # 3713

James 1:26 “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.”

I was up in the attic the other day and ran across a box of frames that had some restoration pictures in them. I pulled the pictures out and took the picture frames to Goodwill. Didn’t need them anymore and didn’t want them anymore. They may hold some value to others, but not to me.

We hear of worthless investments. There are lists on social media sites reminding us that a majority of our cherished collectibles are of very little value any more. No one wants them and no one will pay what we bought them for. These things may have put a smile on our faces, but as for investment purposes, they are worthless.

That made me think of our verse today, a worthless religion. Have you ever thought about what makes a religion worthless? People pour time and effort into a religion. How would it be worthless? Places to assemble are built. Publications are printed. Typically, someone is hired to speak and lead.

There are two major factors that make a religion worthless.

First, if it is false. A false religion will not save you. Something that is wrong, can not be helpful. Wild ideas, wonderful speculations and dreams that many hold dear, all become empty smoke if they are not true. The standard must always be the Word of God. What God says matters, first and foremost.

Second, where our verse is driving at, a religion can be worthless if it does not change us. The principles of that religion may be right and true, but if it does not move us to a more righteous lifestyle, what’s the point? As in our verse today, here is a man whose religion has not changed the way he talks nor the way he thinks. Corrupt. Ungodly. Selfish. Immoral. Hurtful. Gross. He may sit in a church pew on a Sunday, but the way he thinks and the way he talks, you’d never know it.

Why would such a person even put the effort into a religion if does nothing for him? Why would someone pour money into an investment that will bring no positive returns? It may well be, that there is just enough religion to satisfy his conscience but not enough to accomplish any good in his life. Remaining unmoved and unchanged, he has deceived himself, as our passage states, into believing that he’ll go to Heaven because “he has religion.” He compares himself to those who have no religion. Although there are little noticeable differences, he is convinced that sitting in a pew on a Sunday scores points with God. His mind wanders. He is bored. He plays with his phone. He spends more time talking to others than looking into the Bible. A wonderful Christian is how others see him and it is how he sees himself. But is it the way that the Lord sees him?

Third, our tongue is a window into our hearts. The unbridled tongue is likely to say anything, and it usually does. The sins of the tongue, such as gossip, backbiting, slander, evil speaking, lying, boasting reveal a sick and diseased heart. The unbridled tongue, a sure sign of a worthless religion, is problematic of a much deeper and more serious issue, a heart that does not believe. Oh, one can go through the motions. One can “play church” with the best of them, but that empty and vain heart, that refuses to forgive and crushes those that disagrees, is part of a worthless religion.

Many miners, years ago,  were tripped up by what was called “fool’s gold.” The nuggets sparkled like real gold and looked like real gold, only it wasn’t. It was not gold. Some lost their life’s savings buying stakes in nothing but worthless rocks.

Paul warned Timothy about some who were always learning but never able to come to knowledge of the truth (2 Tim 3:7). He continues to describe them as opposing the truth and depraved in mind. They won’t make any progress, the apostle says, because their folly will be obvious to all. Maybe he had in mind tongues that remained unbridled and unchanged.

The opposite of a worthless or useless religion is one that is worthy. One that is worthy will honor and please the Lord by following His will. One that is worthy will keep you strong during the storms of life. One that is worthy will produce the fruit of righteousness. One that is worthy will change your insides and outsides. And, one of the easy ways to tell, is if your tongue has become bridled. Oh, you could say things, but you won’t. You could give someone a piece of your mind, but you know better. You know better and you do better, because of a faith that is worth something.

It is not only worth dying for, but it is worth living for.

Roger