"He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin."
Have you ever asked yourself, "When am I going to learn to keep my mouth shut?" I have asked myself this question many times. Our text warns us to watch our words. This is good advice. What do I mean? Read on…… Once words are spoken they cannot be crammed back into our mouths. Glib sarcasm is very much in vogue today. We need to remember, however, that when we say sarcastic and hurtful things, we are being poor witnesses for Jesus. We are also being poor examples for our fellow Christians. Sarcastic language can become contagious and can set off a good old-fashioned church fuss. I'm going to admit that I make myself heard when I am in a group of people. One thing that I always take into account, however, is that I need to be careful what I say, because what I say will probably be quoted. I want to be sure that if I am quoted, it will make a positive input in someone's life. If we want to be considered wise, we would do well to hold our words in until what we say can make a positive difference. Proverbs 17:28 puts it in perspective for us: "Even a fool when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding." I've always noticed in deacon meetings and meetings of pastors that the guy who does not talk often and only speaks when he really has something to say is listened to more carefully than others of us who talk a lot. We really need to watch what we say to people. This is especially true when we are feeling "out of sorts." I know that I have to remind myself at these times that I will leave a witness one way or the other by what I say. I try to remember when I want to give someone a "piece of my mind" that I do not have any to give away. We would all do well to remember this. We need to remember that words can really hurt people. Paul advised that when we speak to people we should "speak the truth in love." (Ephesians 4:15) I will close with this little word of wisdom: "It is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt." Just Saying! Bro. Joe
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“Do all things without murmuring and disputing. 15. That you might be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in a dark world.”
The point of Paul’s reminder to the Philippians was that they conduct themselves in a way that they would “shine as lights in a dark world.” This was one of the first commands that Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount: “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16) Just as Jesus saw the world in darkness, so did Paul, and so will we if we will just look around. This darkness did not start in the last few years. According to the Bible, the world has always been a place of darkness in need of God’s light. As Jesus ordered and as Paul admonished, we are to be the means of showing God’s light to the world. How do we do this? We do not do it by being religious, judgmental or acting like Pharisees. We let our lights shine through the lives that we live. Paul gave two examples of things that we shouldn’t do if we are to “shine as lights in a dark world.” He wrote for them to “do all things without murmuring….” The modern translation of this word is complaining. Before I come down hard on complaining, let me remind you that we all complain at some time or other. Let’s just go ahead and confess it at the outset. The problem is that for a lot of people, even Christians, complaining is a chronic condition. What is wrong with complaining? One thing is that its source is anger, and when complaining is chronic it means that the anger has found root in the person’s heart. When anger becomes engrained in the heart it tends to make one dissatisfied with everything. This is one of the devil’s tools. He loves to maket us angry and get us to complain about everything. Another thing wrong with complaining is that it is not grounded in love. If we constantly complain about people it means that we do not love them as we should. Yes, I know that some people constantly get on our nerves, but we should not let them determine how we talk or act. Evidently, complaining had become a problem in the Philippian church and was dimming the church’s light; therefore, Paul reminded them that they needed to stop complaining. If complaining was making their lights dim, it will make our lights dim as well. He wrote for them to do “all things without disputing….” The modern translation of this word is “arguing.” A more colloquial translation is “fussing.” (In Southwest Georgia, it would be translated “fussin’.”) I have to admit that it is difficult not to argue or fuss sometimes. If a person says or does something that is so obviously wrong, we want to straighten him or her out. What I have discovered, however, is that when we argue with someone we don’t get them straightened out. The main result is usually that our blood pressure is raised. I have to admit that there was a time in my life when I was more argumentative than I am now, but after multiple fusses, I began to realize that fussing and arguing didn't solve anything. It really doesn’t solve anything in Christ’s church. There was a problem with fussing and arguing in the church at Philippi. In 3:2, Paul asked the church to “beseech Euodia and Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.” Evidently, Euodia and Syntyche were two powerful women in the church who were having an ongoing argument and it was causing trouble in the church. We do not realize how our fussing can affect other people. If we want to shine as lights in this dark world, we need to remember that if our behavior does not reflect the love of Christ, we will not shine for Him. We need to be careful that we refrain from constantly complaining and arguing. Bro. Joe “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all that are in the house. 16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” NKJV
We do not choose the time that we will be born and live our lives. I believe that our sovereign God knew when we would be born and what would be occurring in the world when we lived out our lives. As Mordecai said to Esther: “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14b) If God didn’t think that you could handle these times, you would have been born in another time. What Jesus said to His disciples in this text applied to them in their time and they apply to us in our time – We are to be His salt and light in the world. Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth…” What does this mean? Just think about the uses of salt in the world. Salt is used to flavor food. Job said that he would not want the white of an egg without salt. We are to add flavor to the world. This means that we are to show people what real life, life in Jesus, is all about. Salt can also be an irritant. A cursive reading of church history will show you that when we teach and practice the Christian faith, we can be irritating to the world. We can see this today. In fact, the name of Jesus has become an irritant to many people. Instead of complaining about the times and bemoaning the times, we need to go about bringing flavor, and when necessary, irritation to the world. When we cease being the salt of the earth, we become useless as servants of Jesus: “But if salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” We have the light of the world, Jesus, in our lives, and we are to let His light shine for the world to see. This means that we will share what Jesus has done in our lives with the world. It means that we will share the light of the word of God with the world. If we are effective lights, we will live lives that will show that we are serious about living the Christian life. Hypocrisy is a big turn off to the world. It means that we will not do what we should do, and that we will do what we should not do. It means that we will love people like Jesus loved people. Loving people as Jesus did does not mean excusing lifestyles that are counter to Christian teaching. Jesus loves us in spite of our sins and we are to love others in spite of their sins. It begins with loving each other as Christians. Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” The Love that Jesus brought into our lives is to be shared with the world. It is not our job to judge the world. Jesus will take care of that in His time. It is our job to shed the light of Jesus on the world by what we do not do, by what we do and by what we teach. Nowhere are we told in the Bible to compromise our faith or our lifestyles. According to what Jesus said in the text, it is possible that we could fail to serve as salt and light to the world. Jesus warned that if we do not serve as salt, we will be useless as His servants. It does not mean that we are not saved, it means that we are poor witnesses. Jesus warned that we can fail to shine as lights to the world. It is important that we be both salt and light. Why? Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” As salt and light, we are to bring glory to God. We are, indeed, in the world for such a time as this! Bro. Joe “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12. Having your conversation (conduct) honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (Or “glorify God on the day He visits us.”)
Does it matter what people think about us or say about us? The answer is “yes” and “no.” If we are always worried about what people think about us or say about us no matter whether what we are doing is good or bad, the answer is “no.” If we are concerned that our behavior reflects the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, then the answer is “yes.” It does matter what people think or say about us if our behavior is beneath the behavior of a child of God. Look at what Peter advised: Peter refers to us as “strangers and pilgrims.” Christians are citizens of two dimensions. We are citizens of our country, subject to the laws of our country, but we also have a heavenly citizenship, which means that we are citizens of the kingdom of God. In that sense, we are “strangers and pilgrims.” While it is important that we be good citizens in the earthly realm, and that we reflect the best of the values of this realm; it is even more important that our lives reflect the best of the values of the heavenly realm. Sometimes, we just have to be “strangers and pilgrims” in our behavior. This might bring us into conflict with earthly values. When that happens so be it. Our Christian witness is all-important to God, and should be for us as well. Peter demands that we “abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” There are things that we, obviously, should not do. When we give in to “fleshly lusts,” which we will if we aren’t careful, we give a bad example to the world. The world is super-critical of us when we do not “abstain from fleshly lusts.” In the 80’s when several televangelists were caught not abstaining from their fleshly lusts, they brought derision to the Christian faith as a whole. We want to be careful that we do not do this, for in God’s eyes, it is just as bad when we do it as it was for those famous evangelists. We were admonished by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 to “abstain from all appearance of evil.” I would add here that it is counted as evil when we are self-righteous and “look down our noses” at other people whom we do not consider as righteous as we are. That’s why Jesus was harder on the Pharisees in the gospels than He was on “tax collectors and sinners.” It is not self-righteous, however, to live a clean Christian life and to help others do this as well. In verse 12, Peter wrote that our conduct should be “honest among the Gentiles (in this case, pagans): that, whereas they speak against you as evil doers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God on the day of visitation.” While people might not be impressed with our Christian lifestyles, they will be impressed when the demands of this lifestyle make us trustworthy in all of our dealings with people. If people are going to say bad things about us, it should be about our stand for Christ, with which they disagree, but not about our trustworthiness as Christians. It is certain that people do watch what we say and do, and if we are outspoken Christians and we are not careful about what we say and do; it not only brings derision on us but on Christ as well. I am not suggesting that we lay awake at night and worry about what other people think of us. I am suggesting that we should be careful that what we say and do will reflect our commitment to Christ. To me, this is just good old Christian common sense. Bro. Joe “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth; and a word fitly spoken in due season, how good is it.” 15:21
“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” 25:11 This idea came to me when I saw a sign on a church road sign that read: “Words may not break bones, but they can break hearts.” (If you do not know where this is from, it is from a saying that says, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”) We should never underestimate the effect of our words on other people. Anyone who has ever been the victim of vicious words will attest to this. There is an incident from 2 Samuel 15 that reminds us of the importance of words. Absalom, one of the sons of David, decided to replace his father as King of Israel. He sat at one of the gates of Jerusalem and criticized his father’s abilities as people who had anything against his father came through them. He did this until he became the king of Israel in his father’s place. Absalom didn’t become king because he had actually done anything that qualified him to be the king of Israel; rather, he became the king of Israel because of the words that he used in winning people to his side. It doesn’t make any difference as to whether or not words are true, once they are unleashed in a negative way they can damage reputations beyond repair. There are a lot of people who have been totally defeated by false words. They might have even been vindicated of what they were accused of, but they were still defeated. Indeed, words can break hearts and ruin reputations. This is the negative side of the issue. Thankfully, there is another side to this issue: Take the words from Proverbs 15:21: “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth; and a word fitly spoken in due season, how good is it.” Nothing can encourage a person as much as being told that he or she has done a good job. Someone once asked me if I ever tired of people telling me that they “enjoyed the sermon”? My answer was, “Heavens no! Do I want them to say “terrible sermon”? Preachers like all other humans, need words of encouragement to remind them that they are doing a good job. We need to remember this when we are talking to people. It is good to remember that, “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth.” For the most part, I want the answer of my mouth to bring joy. This is not always possible, .but it should be the predominate purpose of the answer of our mouths. We should never use words to intentionally hurt people. If we use negative words, and we sometimes have to, let it be for the good purpose of helping the person to whom we are speaking. Personally, I have been helped by words of criticism that I knew were given in love to help me do better. I particularly needed this when I was a “young preacher boy.” Proverbs 25:12 speaks to this issue: “Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear.” It is always true that, “A word fitly spoken in due season, how good is it.” It is also true that “words fitly spoken, are like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” I have to admit that I have always had a difficult time figuring out exactly what this means. (Hey, I never claimed to know everything. J) The Jeremiah Study Bible gave me some insight into this verse: “The right word spoken at the right time in the right setting can be pleasing and beautiful.” This commentary referred me to Isaiah 50:4: “The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak. A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning, He awakens my ear to hear as the learned.” This was a quote from “the Servant,” and is commonly referred to as a prophecy about Jesus Christ. Jesus is the epitome of the two verses that I have written about. His words were beautiful, and helpful. For example, in Matthew 11:28 Jesus said, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Beautiful words, indeed, that have been helpful to millions of people. Use words wisely and helpfully instead of being critical and mean-spirited. Bro. Joe “As one, whose mother comforts him, so will I comfort you; and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”
The depiction of a mother in our text is as one who comforts us. The Bible often speaks of a mother’s influence. I am aware that not all mothers are ideal, and I can really only write authoritatively about the mothers that I have known: the mother of my children, my mother and my wife’s mother. All of them are in heaven, but they were “the wings beneath my wings” for this article. A mother’s love A good mother loves her family, and would give her life for her family. They love us enough to want the best for us, and make sure, to the best of their ability, that we have the best. A good mother’s love is a selfless love. Sometimes we don’t act like we need the best, but they love us anyway. The mothers that I have been involved with in my life have loved me in spite of myself. I hope, and trust, that you can say the same about your mother. Someone wrote that a good mother’s love is the next thing to God’s love. A mother’s care A good mother’s care is very important. What a heavy responsibility God has placed upon mothers. A good example of this is Jesus’ mother at the cross on the day of his death. A good mother’s care never stops, even as her children get into adulthood. My wife, Mary, my mother, Dorothy and Mary’s mama, Ruby are three good examples of this. I don’t have the space in this short article to enumerate all that these women did in my life, and the life of my children and grandchildren. We had good days and bad days, just as all people do, but looking back, my family has been fortunate for the mothers that God placed in our lives. I hope and pray that you can say the same. A mother's influence I think of the stories that I could tell of mothers and grandmothers in the congregations that I have served. I have known some great women in my years in the ministry and I have seen their good influence in the lives of their families. There are many stories that I could tell of the three mothers in my life. I thank God for my mother’s influence in my life. She was one of those mothers who “drug” her children to church. I thank God for Mary’s influence in my life and in the life of Faith and Hope – who are both good mothers. I thank God for my mother-in-law, and the influence she has had in our lives. I thank God for all of the godly women that I have known over the years. Happy Mother’s Day to all of you and God bless you. Bro. Joe “Remember this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously.”
Because of a famine in Jerusalem, churches from various areas pledged to send love offerings to the church there. In our text, Paul urged the Corinthians to make good on their promise to take part in sending this offering. At first, they had been all for it, but as time passed their zeal for giving had flagged somewhat. Paul is reminding them in 2 Corinthians 9:5 to give and to give generously because of the reciprocal nature of giving. He used an agricultural metaphor to illustrate his point. If one plants a lot of seed, he or she can expect an abundant crop. If one plants sparingly, his or her crop will not be abundant. This is a principle that applies not just to crops but to all areas of life. As to the matter of giving money, we have discovered that we do not miss what we give. In fact the more we give, the more we prosper. The Bible is full of admonitions to be generous with what God has given us. This principle applies, not just to giving to the church, but to being a giving person in all of life. The principle also applies to more than giving money. (But this is not an excuse not to give money, as some see it. Just saying...) It applies to our attitudes. If we give out grumpiness, we will receive grumpiness in return. I remember that when our daughters were much younger, we visited Disney World. Now there was a real jolly world, except for one character. As we walked along the street, we encountered “Grumpy.” He really lived up to his name. (That’s when I decided that Grumpy is a Baptist…. Come on, it’s a joke – sort of. lol) Give out grumpiness and you get grumpiness back in spades. This can also be true of love, or joy, etc. etc. etc. Remember 2 Corinthians 9:5 when the collection plate comes around in church. Better yet, remember it when you go out into daily life and mingle with people. Bro. Joe “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
The meaning of Psalm 1:3 is clear: A tree that has an abundant supply of nourishment will be a fruitful tree. When this is applied to a godly person, it means that he or she has a constant supply of spiritual nourishment that makes his or her life fruitful. The lesson here is so simple that it seems almost unnecessary to write about it, but it will not hurt us to be reminded of it. First, a fruitful person will read and study the Bible daily. Bible reading is absolutely essential to a fruitful life. This being so, why don't we Christians spend more time in the Bible? We cannot realize God’s abundant supply of grace, love and mercy if we do not stay close to His word. I do not mean to be legalistic, but when we neglect the Bible, we cease growing spiritually. I know this personally, that if I neglect the Bible I encounter more spiritual problems. That’s why I make an effort to read it every day. I need an abundant supply of the word of God to help me to be fruitful in my service for God. Second, a fruitful person will, to quote Paul, "pray without ceasing." This does not mean that he or she will have to be on their knees all of the time, but they will stay in constant contact with Jesus. We need to remember that the ear of God is open to us all day every day. It is important to stay in communication with God. He doesn’t need for us to pray, but we certainly need to pray. He loves to hear and answer our prayers. Third, a fruitful person realizes his, or her, need to have fellowship with God’s people, and to love them. We need each other, not just on Sunday, but at all times. We really need to pray for each other, and to care for each other. Fourth, the fruitful person will have to take all of the inspiration from the Bible, prayer and fellowship and go out and tell others about Jesus. We call it witnessing. All of this needs to be wrapped in our love for God and for each other. I'm sure there is more that could be written about this verse, but these points should suffice. This seems almost too simple to be written, but the state of Christianity seems to dictate that it is a lesson that we need to remember and to practice. Bro. Joe “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16. In the same way let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father, who is in heaven.”
Do you consciously think of yourself as “the light of the world”? I have omitted some of the more obvious answers about what it means for us to be lights in the world that I have dealt with ad infinitum in CouchPotato articles.(In fact a lot of what I wrote yesterday on being “salt” could apply.) My aim in this article is make you think about what it means to be a light in the world. This is an expectation of Jesus. He is aware of how we live our lives, and it is serious to Him how we live our lives. Look at the wording in the text: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father, who is in heaven.” Jesus did not say, “It would be nice…..” He said “let your light so shine….” This should be our own expectation. We should be disappointed in ourselves when we are not shining for Jesus. I’m not attempting to make you feel guilty about your life. My point is that shining as lights in the dark world should be important to you, because Jesus was serious about it. This is an expectation of the world. I don’t think that we need to live just to make a good impression on people, or to try to please everyone. However, on this point we need to consider what people think of us. An illustration of this is the failure of some high profile Christians who have been “dim bulbs.” They made headlines, because they did not live up to what they preached or taught. None of us will be perfect lights, but we should certainly be real careful how we live. On a smaller scale, not of less importance, is the impression that some churches have made on their communities because they did not shine as lights for Christ. Without really knowing why, I think that the world is disappointed because they expected better of us. Jesus expressed the ultimate expectation of our lights shining: “….that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father Who is in heaven.” The idea is that when we let our lights shine; people should see beyond us and give glory to God. Unlike the Pharisees in the New Testament, we need to shine for God and not just to make an impression on people. I am certainly not assuming that you are a “dim bulb.” That’s for you to decide. Think about it. Bro. Joe “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”
We sometimes refer to people that we think a lot of as “the salt of the earth.” Here Jesus called us “the salt of the earth.” We just need to act like it, or we will become useless and fruitless. This is not a statement of whether or not we are saved; rather it is a statement of our usefulness in His work. So, the question is, are you salty? Let me show you what I mean. Do you make the most of your fellowship in your church? Do you love your fellow church members – really love them!? Do you seriously get along with them, to loosely quote Paul, do you “bear with them”? Do you pray for them? (Really, do you pray for them?) Do you make the most of your relationships in your family? Do you really love them? Do you pray for them? Do you accept them as they are? (Jesus doesn’t make allowance for personality differences. Just saying!) Do you make the most of your relationships with people who are involved in your daily life? How are your relationships with people where you work, where you shop, where you play, etc.? Do they realize that you are a Christian, not by what you say but by the way you act, by the way that you treat them? When the opportunity arises do you share your faith with them? Keep in mind that you have already shown them what it means to be a Christian by the way you act, and by what you say? Again, do you love them? What I have shared with you here are some of the familiar things that we struggle with in “being salty.” I think that you will agree that what I have shared here is important. We need to give some serious thought and prayer to these things. Bro. Joe |
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