Sunday
School Lessons
Commentary by Walter Albritton
September 21
To Honor Christ the Tongue Must Be Bridled by the Spirit
And the Mind Must Be Open to Godly Wisdom
James 3
Key Verses: Who is a wise man and
endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his
works with meekness of wisdom. – James 3:13
Words
may hurt us deeply. Though I have tried to forget, memories linger in my mind
of times when others have hurt me with cutting words.
Years
ago, I went to a certain man and apologized for offending him. I had been
wrong. The Spirit convicted me. I told the man I felt ashamed of myself and
asked his forgiveness.
His
words still haunt me. He said, “I will not forgive you. I do not want to be
your friend. I enjoy disliking you.” With that, he turned away. I can still
feel the sting of his words.
Worse
memories, however, are those of times when I was the one who hurt others with
words. I can recall bitter times when I made sarcastic remarks to my wife and
my children, words that wounded deeply our relationships. Thankfully, we found healing for our
brokenness by turning to the Great Physician.
A
marriage may be destroyed by words spoken in haste, anger, or frustration. My
own foolish words threatened our marriage more than once, especially in the
early years. Somehow, our marriage was saved by the grace of God.
Realizing
this, and grateful for God’s applied mercy, I chose as my favorite New
Testament verse Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind
and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God
forgave you” (NIV). This verse epitomizes the Christlike love that must be
practiced in the home before it can be shared with others.
Actually,
I am drawn fondly to the King James Version of the above verse as my choice
rendering: “Be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ’s sake hath
forgiven you.” I love the use of the word, “tenderhearted.” The Spirit
taught me, as a young father, that this was the great need of my heart, and a
problem that He alone could resolve.
All of us will agree that it is well nigh
impossible to keep our tongues under perfect control. We want to use our
tongues to bless others, but then, despite our best intentions, we find
ourselves cursing others. The tongue is, indeed, “an unruly evil, full of
deadly poison.”
I
find it important to take James at his word. He says plainly, “But the tongue
can no man tame….” (3:8). If “no man” can tame his tongue, then we all need
help to control our tongues.
Here
is where I believe it important to turn to the Spirit for help. The Spirit can
tame, or bridle,
my tongue, if I am willing to surrender its control to Him. The Spirit, after
all, offers to each of us that fruit of the Spirit called “self-control.”
It
is helpful to note that, like James, Paul’s answer to envy, strife, confusion,
and evil works, is the control of the Spirit. This may be seen clearly in this
familiar passage:
“So
I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful
nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the
Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each
other, so that you do not do what want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you
are not under law….Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful
nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep
in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying
each other” (Galatians
Clearly,
it is when our minds are open to God, and closed to the ungodly influences that
surround us, that we may receive “the wisdom that is from above.”
What
our culture, and our world, needs is “God-conscious” men and women who want
more than anything to live as servants of God. Those who are true servants of
God are filled with praise for God, so much so that their bridled tongues
consistently honor Jesus Christ. Then, wherever Christ is honored, the Kingdom
comes! + + + + (Walter may be contacted
at walteralbritton@earthlink.net.)