Jump Start # 3289

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.”

Across from our church building is a small golf driving range. It’s a great summer oasis if I want to take a short break from what I am doing. In the late fall, the driving range closes for the winter. Every year, after it closes, they post the same message on the sign out front, “Think Spring.” When the cold winter wind blows, that’s a great reminder, “Think Spring.”

Something recently happened to the message on the sign. The word “Spring” is missing. The letters may have fallen off. The sign now reads, “Think”. And, in many ways, that’s a much better message. Think. We’d all do a lot better if we only do some thinking.

Our verse today describes a person whose mind and actions do not match. He thinks he is religious. However, his mouth tells a different story. His mouth is not bridled. The words fly and as they sting and hurt others, this man’s influence for good falls to the mud. No one thinks that he is a follower of Jesus, the way he talks. What he thinks and what he does are not consistent and they do not match.

Let’s think about “Think”:

First, a lot of trouble we get ourselves into wouldn’t happen so much if we did some thinking. We say things without considering how those words might be received. Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes, there is a time to speak and a time to be silent. Most of us struggle with figuring out that time. “Should I say this,” would prevent a lot of heartache if we only thought those thoughts. James tells us to be quick to hear and slow to speak. It seems we like to mix those things up and do more speaking than hearing.

Second, imagine if we could think of passages before we acted. The Psalmist meditated day and night upon God’s word. Thinking about what God wants me to do, would likely get me down to the church house more than I often go. Thinking about God and His divine kingdom would likely lead me to giving more money than I already do. Think. Think about the good that can be done. Think about the ways the kingdom can be expanded.

Third, Bible classes could really become challenging, deep and helpful if we put more thought into what we are doing. This begins first with the teacher. Asking simplistic questions that everyone already knows the answers to will generate silence or simplistic answers. It can be an exercise in just rehearsing what we already know. We need depth, challenging and insightful observations of God’s word from the teacher.

But the students in the classes need to think as well. Think about who is in the class. Some like to play the game ‘stump the teacher.’ They do this by asking controversial questions that have nothing to do with the subject being taught. They like to put the teacher on the spot and like being cute by making silly comments. Everyone laughs. One must understand who all is in the classroom. Young in faith. New to Christ. Broken hearts. Confused. And, comments made without thinking, can discourage, disappoint and even drive some away.

A person must “THINK” before he speaks in class. Will this be helpful? Is this something that I need to study before I speak out? Is this something that I ought to ask the teacher in private? Some, as soon as a thought crosses their minds, they open their mouths and say things that may not be appropriate, kind or helpful. THINK.

Finally, as one puts some thought into “THINK,” it is remarkable that God thinks about us. He loves you, not because you are part of the human race, but He loves you personally. He knows you. He made you. He understands how you are wired.

There are moments in our lives when it seems that no one is thinking of us. You may feel this way about your family. Everyone is occupied with themselves and no one thinks of you. You may feel this way about the church. You wonder if you dropped out, would anyone even miss you. You can feel this way about work. You easily can feel this way about society and the government. No one thinks about me. That quickly turns to, “No one cares about me.” But, there is one and He always thinks about you. He is God. He is busy blessing you, forgiving you, moving things in and out of your life that you are not even aware of.

But on another aspect, do we think about God? That “pray without ceasing” verse doesn’t really work well unless we are thinking about Him. When I think about Him, I want to pray to Him. When I think about Him, I step more closely to Him. When I think about Him, I realize how rich I am.

Think. I hope the driving range just keeps that word on the sign. It sure helps me every time I see it.

Think.

Roger

Jump Start # 1430

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.”

  This week we have been looking at what God considers worthless. Our verse today shows the failure of a person’s faith and the deception that has taken him down a dead-end road. The person, our verse describes, considers himself religious. That’s ahead of many people right there. There are some who know that they are not religious. They never darken a church building, never open a Bible and give no thought to the here-after. Their world is now. Their playing field is secular. They admit that they are not religious.

The man in our verse is not like that. He thinks that he is religious. He may have all the signs that point to that fact. He attends a church on Sunday. He carries a Bible. He knows the words that religious people uses. He understands some concepts. In his mind and in his heart, he is doing pretty good. He feels pretty sure that he’ll go to Heaven when he dies. Our passage tells us that he has fooled himself and that his religion is worthless. It has done him absolutely no good. Sitting in the church house has not changed him. Carrying a Bible hasn’t helped him. He has not only fooled those around him, he has fooled himself. Only God has not been fooled.

The tell-tell sign of this deception and worthless religion is this man’s tongue. He has not bridled his tongue. We understand bridles. They are put in the mouth of a horse and the rider can control the animal. A pull one way and the horse turns. Pulling back and the horse stops. Without a bridle, the rider is literally on a ride at the will of the horse. The rider must hang on for dear life, not knowing what the animal will do. A tongue that is bridled means that is under control. It’s not running wild. It can be stopped. It can be turned. The rider of the tongue is our heart. Without that bridle, the tongue is free to say anything. It is governed by emotion and circumstance. A tense moment, and the unbridled tongue with explode with angry and mean words. An unbridled tongue is likely to chew someone out. It doesn’t think before it speaks. Like a Kansas twister, the path of damage is wide and devastating. This man’s family will know about it first hand. The kids have been tongue lashed many times and walk on egg shells, never knowing when dad might blow up. This man’s wife has been verbally abused all their marriage. He claims he loves her, but he has said far too many cruel and insensitive things to her through the years. At work, this guy can be an embarrassment. His stories may be laced with prejudice and things that are just not proper to say. In a Bible class, he might spout out things that are hurtful to others, even naming names publically.

His tongue is running wild. His tongue will be his downfall. It will get him in trouble. His apologies will no longer be accepted. His out of control mouth ruins any good that he tries to do.

This is the surface issue. Under the layers, the real problem is his heart. The text tells us that his religion is worthless. He has certainly heard sermons and read passages about the tongue—it’s all over the Bible. He doesn’t get it. He doesn’t notice the compassionate Christ. He doesn’t understand decorum and tact. His religion ought to smooth the roughness in him. It ought to put controls and limits on his heart and tongue. It ought to make him considerate of others. Forget the light of the world and the salt of the earth stuff. He doesn’t see that, nor get that. His religion has not changed him. He remains rough, raw and indifferent.

His faith is defined by Heaven as worthless. He maintains a worthless religion. If someone were to say, “I have a worthless college degree,” that would tell us that they pursued a study that there is no job market for. They spent tons of money and years of their life and now that piece of paper has done nothing for them. This man’s religion is like that. It has not helped him. It has not brought him closer to the Lord. It has not made him a better person. He has been living in a delusional world. The worst thing about this is that a worthless religion will not save a person. This man lives his life, thinking he is going to Heaven, when he is not. Heaven will not be occupied with worthless faith.

Our passage brings to us the practical nature of our faith and religion. It’s not just about praising God. Our faith, our religion ought to change us. It ought to make us more like God. It should have an affect upon us. This is one of the major mistakes of mega church mentality today. Churches are filled on Sunday mornings with people who show up to watch an amazing musical concert who give no thought to how they are living with the Lord. Friday nights are spent partying with friends. Tongues are unbridled. Morals are loose. Attitudes selfish. But come Sunday, they are in the arena churches laughing, having a great time and being deceived. The religion is worthless. It’s doing no one, including God any good. It’s all a sham. It’s superficial, shallow and will not help them. The lack of substance and the absence of genuine faith will not turn around a sorry marriage. It will not help them raise their children as God wants. It will not keep them out of the ditches of life. In the end, it will not save their souls. They have been fooled.

The man in our passage needs to get serious about what is going on. He needs to build a real faith based upon Christ. He needs to imitate Christ. That will help him get the bridle around his mouth. It will help him become thoughtful and kind. It will help him do what God wants.

So serious is this that James continually comes back to this thought. The first chapter talked about being a doer of the word. In the second chapter, much thought is given to faith and works. This is not Theology 101, but rather, showing how religion is to be worthwhile in one’s life. The third chapter is devoted to the tongue. The fourth chapter mentions the danger of speaking against one another.

At the control of the bridle ought to be the Lord. The Lord ought to be THE LORD of our heart. It is He who leads us, guides us and fashions our decisions. In this way, our religion surrounds Him and it is He who shapes our lives. A worthwhile religion is one that honors God and makes us a better person.

Worthless or worthwhile…who is at the helm of your heart? Who is holding the reigns of your tongue? Who is in control?

Roger

Jump Start # 1260

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.

  The congregation that I worship with live streams their Sunday services. Recently they started live streaming videos of the services. Someone was telling me about how cool it was to see the preacher and the powerpoint slides together. I wasn’t sure what they meant so I watched a recent video. It was a video of me preaching. I couldn’t take very much of that. It was painful. I saw many things about my mannerisms that I didn’t like. I’ve gotten to the point where I can listen to myself preach. I’m not there with watching myself. I guess I’m too critical. It was very uncomfortable exercise for me to do that.

All of this connects us to our verse today. We often have a hard time seeing ourselves as others see us. We typically live at one polar extreme or the other. Either, we tihnk too much of ourselves or we think too little of ourselves. The too much crowd must deal with pride. They believe that they can part water and that the world just can’t get along without them. They think their value is more than that it really is. This gets them in trouble. They feel that they deserve more pay than what the bosses feel like giving them. They think their ideas and opinions ought to top every list. The problem is they don’t see themselves as everyone else does.

The other extreme is just as troublesome. They have so little self worth and value that they think no one cares, needs them or wants to know what they think. This group never speaks out, defends self or has an independent idea. They can’t handle rejection, criticism or a vote against them, so they offer very little to discussions. They, like the first group, do not see themselves as others see them.

Our passage from James today, deals with self deception. That’s the worst kind of deception. Deception comes in many forms. Wolves in sheep clothing are a form of deception. False teaching is a form of deception. Eve was deceived by Satan as he twisted words and ideas in her head. But the worst of all is when a person deceives himself. He is convinced of things that are not true.

The James passage illustrates this concept very well. Here, James presents, is a man who claims to be religious. There are certain things we’d expect from someone who would make that claim. However, as James reveals, this person does not bridle his tongue. His tongue gets him into trouble. James is not specific at this point. Later in the book he tells us much more about the tongue. Here, it’s just an opening principle. The unbridled tongue is like a horse without a bridle. It is not under control. It’s likely to do anything and go anywhere. Included in this would be gossip, berating someone, unfair criticism, chewing someone out, negativism, cussing, unwholesome words, bragging about self, unfair judging and putting others down. There is a lot of harm that can come from our tongues. We can build someone up or we can destroy them. Just consider a few phrases:

• You can’t do anything right
• You’re fat
• You’re ugly
• You’re stupid
• You’ll never accomplish anything

It doesn’t take too much of those things, coming from a parent, a mate, a child, or a friend, to just tear you up on the inside. We tend to forget compliments, but we never forget criticism. Decades later, we can remember harsh things a parent said to us. They have branded us and in some cases, marred us for life.

James is looking at someone who thinks he is religious but he has no control on his tongue. He has no filters. He talks without thinking. He just might say anything to anyone. He leaves a path of destruction everywhere he goes. He chews out strangers in restaurants if the food is too slow or not just right. He screams at drivers that he feels are incompetent. He hollers at the kids. He is overly critical of those he disagrees with at church. His mouth is a weapon of mass destruction. Yet, in all of this, he doesn’t get it. He deceives himself. He thinks he is religious. He thinks he’s alright. He things he’s going to Heaven. He has fooled himself. He doesn’t see himself as others do. He thinks he is better than most and the reality is, he’s actually worse than most.

Seeing ourselves as we truly are is hard to do. Some never get there. Some live in a delusional world that how they see themselves is how others see them. The worst of all of this is that how we see ourselves is often how we think God sees us. This is the danger and the problem. This is what James was driving at. The religious man in James 1 never saw himself as having a worthless religion. He never saw himself as God did.

Deceiving ourselves will keep us safe and unchanged. We are convinced that we are fine when we are not. So how do we see what God sees? We don’t get to watch a video of ourselves every moment of every day. The answer must be through the Scriptures. Looking at what God expects and wants from us and then being honest. That’s the key. It’s the honest and good heart in the parable of the sower that brought change. It was a reality check that led the prodigal home. Honest. Honest with our faith. Honest with our worship. Honest with our sins. Honest with our feelings. Hebrews tells us that the word of God can divide the bone and marrow—it cuts through excuses and false deceptions. Let the Bible look at your heart.

Seeing ourselves as God sees us is important. In this way you will understand that you are not trash that sickens God. He loves you. He wants you in Heaven. He is willing to forgive you. It will show you where you are doing well. It will show you what you need to work on. Deceptions hides the truth. Deception keeps us from changing.

Watching yourself from Heaven’s perspective will help you guard your mouth, your motives and your attitudes. The little children have something right when they sing, “Be careful little mouth what you say…be careful little mouth what you say…for the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little mouth what you say.”

Honest. It can be as painful as watching a video of yourself. It can also be helpful. I went back and finished watching myself preach. I’m glad I did. You need to watch yourself, not on a video, but through the lens of Heaven. It will help you.

Roger

Jump Start # 1063

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.”

  The subject of the tongue is a major theme in the book of James. The practical, straight forward wisdom mirrors the book of Proverbs in many ways. What we say is a reflection of our attitudes and faith. That’s the point of our verse today. A religious man with an uncontrolled tongue has a faith that is doing nothing for him. His religion is worthless.

Worthless things is what we often call “junk.” Worthless things are tossed out in the trash. Worthless, as used by James, is describing the benefits that this man gains from his religion. His religion is not helping him,  shaping or molding him, defining him. This man is not even living his religion. He is a hypocrite. He says the right words in worship, but his attitude and tongue tell us otherwise. His mouth demonstrates that his heart is empty.

Notice the many references to the unbridled tongue in James:

• The disrespect toward poor Christians
• The lack of mercy towards others
• The cursing of others
• The many quarrels
• Speaking against one another
• Arrogant boasting
• Anger

To bridle something is to control it. The illustration takes us to a person trying to ride a horse. Without a bridle, the horse cannot be turned, stopped or controlled. The rider is at the mercy of the horse. This illustrates the person who does not live by faith. Their faith is not controlling their thoughts and tongue. We witness ugly, mean and hurtful abuse from the tongue. It’s one thing for this to come from one who does not know the Lord, but from a Christian? From one who follows Jesus? They never learned that from Jesus.

Some justify saying anything by proclaiming, “I just speak my mind.” Well, you shouldn’t. Put a bridle on that tongue. Others claim, “The truth hurts.” It does, but it doesn’t need you to stick a knife into someone’s heart. “I just can’t help it, that’s the way I am,” is a cop out. James is telling us that you can help it. You better help it. Your wicked mind and evil tongue destroy the people that Jesus love and died for. Your loose tongue does not build faith and bring others closer to Christ. It crushes them.

There is a time and a place for confrontational conversations. There is a time and a place to rebuke wrong. Those times are in a spirit of gentleness, offered in love and with the hope of making better, not telling someone off.

What and how we say things can lead to an argument or it can calm nerves. We need to remember this in our marriages. We need to recall this when dealing with kids. Hostile attitudes explode when not governed by faith. Our faith is the difference. Our religion is the difference. Our religion is not worthless. It is the opposite, it is valuable. It is not just a ticket away from Hell. It’s not just getting to Heaven. Our faith, our religion, makes a difference in our lives now. One way is how it helps bridle our tongues.

Faith tells us to think before you speak. Faith tells us to consider the best way to say things. Faith invites God into what we are going to say. Faith says speak calmly, not in anger. Faith says look at yourself, you are not perfect. Faith says honor God, even in differences. Faith says help the person out, not destroy him.

What good is your religion doing for you now? Does it help you with your choices, even today? When you pick out a movie, a date, a word to say, a book to read, a person to call a friend, does faith affect those things? It ought to. A profitable religion benefits us. It makes a difference to us. It shows.

The Holy Spirit felt that those early Christians were missing something. The salvation in Christ had not led to a change in attitude and relationship with each other. They were abusing and hurting one another. It doesn’t take much of that until a skirmish breaks out. From that, things escalate until an all out war is declared. We see Russia and the U.S. tossing verbal bombs at each other now. Those things can lead to greater and more devastating problems. God knows that. He didn’t want that among His people.

Use your mouth wisely. Catch yourself before you say things that you shouldn’t. Hold back. That’s what a bridle does. Turn the conversation into something positive, that’s what a bridle does. Find areas that build up. Encourage. Compliment. Thank. Forgive. Help. The bridle will take you to those places when faith is at the reins.

The saddest thing about a worthless religion is that it doesn’t take a person to Heaven as one thought. The deceived person spent a life chasing something that did nothing for him. His language, his ways, his attitude, especially at home, was rough, godless, selfish and mean. Gossip, prejudice and judgmental statements are common to a worthless religion. Such a person dies, thinking Heaven is his, when it’s not. His religion fooled him. He lived without bridles. He allowed uncontrolled thoughts to become uncontrolled actions and words. He didn’t honor God in his words or life. He dies deceived. His poor family suffered through years of this junk. His children, most likely, will have nothing to do with religion because of the worthless example they saw in dad. It didn’t do him any good. His legacy will be crippled hearts that were subject to his uncontrolled anger, abuse and godless tongue. He dies, not in glory, but in shame. He awakens on the other side, not in comfort, but in torment. He has fooled even himself. The only one not fooled was God.

Is your faith doing you any good? Does it show today? Are you a person under control? Do you have your bridle in place? That’s the thought that James is driving at.

What a wonderful thing faith is, when it is locked into Jesus Christ and filling the heart that manifests it.

Valuable or worthless? What is it to you?

Roger

Jump Start # 733

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.

There are three courses in life. There are those who are not religious and they know that. God has no place nor time in their lives. For some who are like this, they grew up that way. Their home life did not include regular prayers, Bible reading or going to worship services. That area of their life didn’t exist. Others in this category, may have started off believing, but some traumatic event in their life or a college science class took away all belief that they had. They do not consider themselves to be religious. They are not concerned about such things. Secular and material is the extent of their thinking.

Then there are those that James referred to in our verse today. They think that they are religious. These folks love God to an extent and may even go to worship services now and then. James calls their religion worthless. It’s worthless because they do not bridle their tongue. It’s worthless because their religion hasn’t changed him, challenged them nor moved them closer to God. It’s enough to soothe a guilty conscience but not enough to do any good. An “unbridled tongue” is a tongue that is out of control. Gossip and cruel words and a sharp tongue are characteristics of an unbridled tongue. A person may claim to be a Christian, but their tongue doesn’t agree. Their tongue reveals their true identity. They have fooled themselves. These are the ones who are convinced that they are saved. They claim they are saved but their tongue leaves everyone else wondering. How sad and pitiful to have something that is worthless, especially a religion. Years ago land was sold to innocent people believing that there was gold and oil on the property. There wasn’t. The land turned to be worthless. Others have bought investments that turned out to be worthless. A worthless religion—what a profound and cold statement. A worthless religion won’t help a person when they need help. A worthless religion will not get a person where they want to go—Heaven. A worthless religion may feel good and fit well and be very easy, but it’s not the religion of Jesus Christ. Often a person doesn’t know something is worthless until they try to sell it or use it. How sad to go through life with a worthless religion and then at the end, when you hope it will take you home to God, find out it was worthless.

The third course in life is true religion. That is defined in the next verse of James. It is a religion that works both on self and others. It is a religion that is not easy. Keeping oneself pure in an impure world isn’t an easy task. Taking care of others is demanding. It costs, time, money and energy. True religion shows it’s self today. It’s a busy religion. It’s a religion that is marked by changed hearts and a commitment to Jesus. True religion is based upon the Bible. It follows the Bible. It follows Jesus. It is a faith that imitates Jesus—in attitude, obedience and love. There’s no denying the true religion. It shows.

Three courses in life. You see all three each day. There are those who have no religion and it shows. There are those who have a worthless religion and it shows. And there are those who manifest a true religion and it shows. Those with no religion often complain about the rest who have religion. They can be demanding and pushy. Such is life without a moral compass and a direction to follow.

Three courses. Which one are you on? Do others know about it? Does it show? Is it making a difference in your life and those about you? Pure religion or worthless religion…make sure you’re pursuing the right one and for the right reasons.

Roger