I know - it's a gross picture - but ----- a few weeks ago my ministry partner was speaking on The Tongue from the book of James and I sat there in the front row listening - and thinking - 'Oh my goodness - that is definitely the one part of my skull that I cannot consistently get a great handle on.'
Don't pretend like you can either.
I don't know how many times I've sat in my office across from an individual and as they were talking I would feel 'IT' rising in my esophagus and flitting right past my uvula, whacking it hard as it went. There would be these 18 little guys on my left shoulder whispering in my ear: 'Don't say it, Kevin - don't you dare say it.' And then just this one little guy on my right shoulder going: 'SAY IT! SAY IT! SAY IT! You know you want to!' And then ... don't you know ... I would.
The same has happened in e-mails - on Facebook - in texts - you name it. An army of whisperers on this side: 'I wouldn't write that if I were you - you're gonna regret that.' And that other lone dude on the other side: 'Go for it. You're in a royal mood today anyway. You'll feel better afterwards.' And ---- spew, it would come.
Now - in fairness to myself -- sometimes it's been the right thing to say. I'm not here just for people's pleasure, but for lots of other reasons. I've said to my kids before, whether they remember it or not: 'I'm not here to preserve you from every pain in life. I'll help you thru it, but some tough stuff is going to come and that's OK. Even good. But I'll help you through.' So sometimes, the hard thing - the rough, tough thing - has been the right thing to say, text, e-mail, post.
But as often as not, my tongue has gotten me in trouble. Isaiah 50 has a short verse that says: 'The Lord has given me an instructed tongue." Wow. How nice would that be - to always know the right thing to say? What a gift. The rest of that verse says, 'God wakes me up morning by morning, tuning my ear to listen like one being taught.'
I suppose Jesus went thru the same thing. You don't suppose He ever just 'let loose,' right? Yeah I know - that one day in the temple, yeah. But other than that? I think He knew what to say because, morning by morning, He opened His eyes, ears and heart and became a student. God's words come to those who listen to Him carefully, morning by morning.
The summary of Jesus' life according to Luke is that He 'grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.'
We all love the destination, but we're not too crazy about the journey. I'm on it though. And staying on it --- morning by morning.
And be blessed.
3 comments:
Thanks PK! I had a dream about none other than my tongue the other night. sounds funny huh... but it kept getting larger and larger and more and more painful til finally the swelling went down and then I was able to talk. I've been thinking about the tongue and what the Lord says about it ever since. I think this is a valuable part of all of our journey's.... definitely a difficult one to get ingrained however. haha.
hope you guys are doing great!
...i needed to read this last week...and the week before that....and probably next week.
There have been too many times that I have said things that I deeply regret. I tend to let my emotions override my judgement. I wish I were wise enough to always know the right thing to say. I can only hope I will be smarter and learn from my mistakes. Time will tell. I agree with you, it is hard to get handle on my tongue and emails, etc. Sometimes, the problem is once you say something, then you can't just take it back. It's not always that easy.
Honestly, I have always imagined it was easier for Jesus to do the right thing and not to sin, because He was God. Maybe I am wrong about that. Maybe He really did face the same temptations we do. Or maybe He was just so close to the Father that his mind didn't think in the same way most of us do.
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