“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle the tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” – James 1:26
The Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. has a small exhibit that contains the personal items found on Abraham Lincoln the night he was assassinated. It includes a Confederate five-dollar bill, a small penknife, a broken spectacle case held together with a cotton string, and a worn-out newspaper clipping written about the president. The article begins with these words, “Abe Lincoln is one of the greatest statesmen of all time.”
In Gary Chapman’s book, Love as a Way of Life, he uses the vivid metaphor for words as being either ‘bullets or seeds.’ If people use words as bullets with a feeling of superiority and condemnation, they will not restore a relationship to love. If they use words as seeds with a feeling of supportiveness and sincere good will, they can rebuild a relationship in positive and life-affirming ways.
Satan uses the tongue to divide people and pit them against each other. Idle and hateful words are damaging because they spread destruction quickly. As a follower of Jesus Christ, you can use your tongue to heal or hinder others. So, before you speak, think of Proverbs 18:21: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Remember that even the President of the United States needed regular positive reinforcement. An encouraging word spoken at the right time can make all the difference in a person’s life – just like it did for President Lincoln.
Pray that your government leaders will choose to speak words of life toward each other. And invite others to join you in regularly praying for and sending encouraging words to President Trump.
Today’s Verse: James 1:26
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: James 3: 3-12
3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
