Biting My Tongue

James 5:9-11

Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!  Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.


Have you ever dropped a spot of something on the carpet and then went to clean it up?  If you don't do it correctly, you start to rub, and the more you rub, the bigger the mess becomes. 

Sometimes being around people is hard.  It is inevitable when you put people of different backgrounds together you are going to have disagreements.  We get our feelings hurt, or we see things going on that just simply shouldn't be.  It is really easy to continue to rub at the spot and create a huge mess of feelings.  Some may be legitimate, some not, all become hurtful.

My mind has rubbed around some things the past week and created a mess that has been wearing on me physically and spiritually.

James 5 paints the attitude we should have in the face of adversity, when we face those people who just aren't that easy to handle.  Instead of judging and grumbling, and stirring the mess, we should set the example of patience. 

Even though we are saved by grace, we fight the battles of this world every day.  Our flesh longs to fight with the weapons of the world...to strike out in anger and bitterness.  How we fight the fight matters.  I love the advice given to us here:

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 The Message (MSG)

The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.

Lord help me to have an attitude of obedience and of mercy in the face of my enemies.  Teach me to know when to hold my tongue, and when to use it for your good.  Help me to see past the manipulative barriers of Satan and seek truth.




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