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James starts off with warning people that teachers are judged more strictly than other people. Then he goes through all these analogies about how the tongue controls the body, like the bit in a horses mouth or a rudder on a ship. Then in verse 8 he says "But no one can control the tongue. It is wild and evil, full of deadly poison". He says our tongues are two-faced. We praise God with the same mouth that curses others. This is bad but it's something that we all do because we aren't perfect.
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True wisdom. You can show your wisdom by living right and being humble. Verse 14 "If you are selfish and have bitter jealousy in your hearts, you have no reason to boast. Your boasting is a lie that hides the truth." This verse makes me think of a bully. They only bully others to drown out the truth inside themselves. This kind of wisdom doesn't come from God, it comes from the devil. The wisdom that God gives is, verse 17, "First, it is pure. It is also peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. This wisdom is always ready to help people who have trouble and to do good for others. This wisdom is always fair and honest." People who live right get the blessings that come from living right.
I told you it was going to be short but thats all I got for chapter 3. Until next post, or comment, -Matthew Jimenez
5 comments:
With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. James 3:9
This verse today really made me stop and think. Am I using my tongue the way God wants me to? It is so easy to say something you will regret and that's why the tongue is so dangerous. This verse makes me think twice before saying something I know I shouldn't.
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. James 3:14
This verse reminds me that everyone who says they are a Christian have a responsibility. We Christians wear the name of God on us, and if others see us doing something wrong, they will think we are hypocrites.
Two verses stuck out to me today.
James 3:2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we could be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
then...
James 3:7,8 People can tame all kins of animals, birds reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless evil, full of deadly poison.
It's really weird that James tells us we could be perfect if we controlled our tongues then tells us we can't then later in v. 10 says its wrong to bless and curse with the same tongue. Also it is clear that James is true about what he says about the tongue starting fires and stuff, because every war and arguement and divorce happened because someone said yes to something bad, or said something mean and antagonizing to someone else. I think the only way to be in control of your tongue is to ask God for help. I used to get in trouble all throughout gradeschool for talking in class. Then a couple years ago I read Proverbs 18:9 Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut. Through this verse God showed me how to control my mouth. That's why i know God is the only way to control your toungue.
James 3:13 If you are wise and understand God's way, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.
People that do not understand God's ways and aren't wise will boast about the great things they've done for God. You will here more about what they did than what God did. If you are wise and understand God's way then you will be humble and give the glory to God not boasting about works that God blessed you by doing them through you.
I really liked this chapter. I had to stop and think a few times about how I was acting.
I really liked verses 5-6. They said:
In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. (6) And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.(NLT)
This verse made me think like what Joe said about verse 9: "am I using my tongue for what God wants me too?" What we say to people matters no matter how small a thing you say, it has an impact on people. We may think that what we are saying could never hurt anyone cause we don't say anything rude to peoples faces and you don't cuss or anything like that. But talking behind peoples back about something is still harmful! Same with if you say something that is borderline rude and then afterwords you say: "I was just kidding". Well that is still hurtful. Also the verse talks about if you go around saying bad things you probably do bad things. That's because it all starts with the tongue.
I agree with Joe, Nathan, and Jackie, because the tongue is like a sword. It can hurt people, or it can help people. If it's hurting them, then that would be like saying that someone is ugly and needs to get a life. If it's helping them, then it may be like standing up for someone that is being bullied from others or cheering them up on a bad day. The tongue is also the spark of a fire, if you say something good, and others see it and want to do that good idea, then it will impact others. And the wisdom of using the tongue comes only from God, which is pure, peace-loving, considerate, submussive, full or mercy, and good fruit.
I really like verses 1-2, "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, becuase you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways." I don't think this verse is telling us that we can't teach but I do think it is saying that we should be knowledgable about what we're teaching about so we don't give false information and also that if we are going to teach we should be humble because even the most knowledgable teachers make mistakes.
I also liked verse 10, "Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be." I like this verse because it is telling us that we can decide whether we use our tongues for good or evil. We can do a lot of good with our words, but we can also do a lot of bad with them as well. I also like how he threw the last sentence in. "My brothers this should not be.'" God is making it clear to us that we are not supposed to live our lives like this. I'm the same way as Jackie, while reading this I was constantly rethinking my actions and words I had spoken today. I might not have purposely tried to hurt someone but I can now see how it could be taken that way. I think everyone struggles with that and the only way to control this is by asking for God's help.
Finally I liked verse 16, "For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice." I have a tendency to be jealous or envy other people. I might say, "Wow she's a lot prettier than me." Or "He has more friends then I do." But what usually ends up happening is I am unconsciously mean to them or just not very friendly when the truth is I actually am just jealous of them. I think this is what God means about how you will find disorder in envy or selfish ambition. -Taylor Rayborn
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