A Pure Tongue

Pure and undefiled religion {worship} in the sight of our Lord is this: Caring for widows and orphans in their time of distress, and keeping oneself unstained by the world.

I've been talking about stains...or more specifically, about how as Christians we can keep ourselves unstained by the world. I've talked about the worldly atmospheres of drunkenness, and materialism.

Now let's talk about the mouth. James talks a lot about it...GOSSIP. You know, that juicy little tidbit of info. that will make you explode if you can't share it with just one person. Or that little thing that irked you about someone that you'd love to hash over with a friend. Or that news you think you heard, but you aren't sure if it's true, but maybe so-and-so knows if it's true...

GOSSIP...It's enticing and exciting, and dangerous and divisive. It's a tempting little trap of the enemy of our souls. It's acceptable in the world, but spoken of in Scripture as that which defiles our whole body. It causes friendships to break up, churches to divide, ministries to crumble and people to be destroyed.

How do we avoid it? How do we resist the temptation? How do you live life in this world and consistently sidestep it? Have you overcome a struggle with the tongue?

Without engaging in it, let's talk about it. After all, to refrain from it and point others away from it is an act of Worship.

Practical Application

So...no comments on my last post makes we continue to wonder what y'all think. I had a good conversation with one of my favorite friends yesterday who said, "OK, oh wise one...exactly how do I go about living the way that you said in your blog post?" :)

I replied, "Well since, clearly, I have it all together, let me explain..."

(Actually, I said "Ummm...I don't know".)

Lest my readership think that my "Materialism Expounded" post comes out of a life of pure perfection and complete understanding of the way to live in, but not of, the world, I will share some of my personal struggles with this, and some practical ways I have found to honor the Lord.

1. For many years after I was first married, I felt an intense pressure to present a home that was perfect...perfect in order, perfect in decor, and mature in furnishings. I looked in other people's homes and felt a desire to have the nice things that they had. I was always finding things about my home that did not satisfy me and that I felt needed improving. I devoured Home Decorating shows and magazines.

Eventually, I recognized that the Lord was trying to get my attention. He was showing me that my focus was wrong. As I was growing with Him, my confidence in who I was in Him grew, and my need for the approval of man was dwindling. I recognized that my need for a perfect home had come from a need to look good to my friends. The Lord convicted me of this so much that I quit Home Decor shows etc. cold turkey. What I found was, as I stopped filling my mind with the worldliness of those shows, my urgency to continually improve my home diminished. I began to appreciate what I had, I recognized how blessed I was to have a beautiful house to raise my family, and I began to see my house as a home, not a showpiece. I finally came to realize that the Lord gave us our house to bless others, and not only for ourselves. With that recognition, I can now honor the Lord by sharing our home for meals, for housing, for counseling, and for refuge. What makes our home most beautiful is a spirit of hospitality, not a new rug, a fresh coat of paint or a sweet new set of furniture.

I can truly praise the Lord that He has brought me through this one, and given me victory over this stronghold.

2. We are a Pastoral family. We have 3 children, and we have made our house a home for more than just our immediate family. On a limited income and a tight budget, we often are faced with bills we are unsure how to pay. I have often found myself despairing about how to pay the mortgage, pay for heating etc. , make student loan payments, fill the gas tank, and get groceries for 6+ all at the same time. I was often tempted to withhold my tithe to make it possible to pay something else. Does that sound familiar? I bet it does.

This reflects directly on the scripture I mentioned in my last post about worrying for your next meal etc. I definitely discovered the words of the WORD to be true...worrying did not add a day to my life. Nor did it pay the bills. I also discovered that my pure ingenuity of working out the bills just so did not feel like an act of worship. I could make numbers work out, but I would be bound by my own intellect, and would hold my breath from paycheck to paycheck.

So, I started laying out the bills on the table before me, and praying over them before I paid them. I thanked the Lord for providing me with heat, with electricity, with water, with food. I thanked Him for the money that we earn, and I told Him that I want to be a good steward with it. I thanked Him that He gave me a sound mind to reason with and to think through things with, and I asked for His help as I determined which bills to pay when. And He answered...He helped me to see clearly in what order to pay things. He helped me to worship Him by first setting aside the money for my tithe. I began to see more clearly just how much I had, and how it really was all His.

As I made it a habit to approach my bills in this way, I couldn't believe how the Lord responded. He was faithful to show me how to pay my bills. He was faithful to increase my faith, by working out the numbers for me. He was faithful to give me peace as I saw Him at work. He was faithful to provide surprise funds just when I needed them most. And He was faithful to show me ways to use what I had to bless others, not just pay the bills.

There are still expenses, and there will always be bills. When one comes unexpectedly, I am often tempted to try to figure it out myself, or to worry about it. But God is faithful to remind me what He's already brought me through with this.

So, I hope that those practical applications make some sense and totally reflect God's goodness, as I endeavor to honor the Lord. I have much to learn. I am still affected by our materialistic culture, but I love it when I am convicted and given the opportunity to submit something new to the Lord.

John 8:47 says "Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God".

I know that if we listen gladly to His words which tell us that we don't need to worry about things like food or clothing, He will be faithful to show us just how abundantly He can provide not only the supplies, but peace and an increased faith in His ability and desire to provide for u.

Materialistic Stains, expounded

So, I opened up discussion about being stained by the world in the area of Materialism. This is a tricky one to address, as all North Americans have been born into a culture which thrives on excess. We can't dwell in guilt for having been born into this nation while so many are born into poverty...God is sovereign, and has a sovereign purpose for placing people where He does. But, we honor the Lord by considering how to be stewards of what we've been given, and we worship Him by being cautious to remain unstained by the materialistic mindset of our culture.

HOW?

1. Let's consider the things we think we "need". Luke 12 gives an account of Christ speaking about this sort of thing. You know it, I know you do. He talks of ravens and the grass of the fields. He speaks of earthly treasures and how our heart is shown in what we deem valuable. He speaks of faith, and reminds us of how much more valuable we are to God than the birds of the air or the flowers of the field.

-Do you daily recognize the abundance you live in?
-Do you know that you have far more than you could ever need?
-Do you daily acknowledge that all of it belongs to the Lord?
-Do you gladly give first to the work of the Church or do you give whatever is left over after you pay your bills and buy that thing you've been waiting to get?
-Do you store up for yourself, or do you trust the Lord for His provision, and pray about ways you can use your abundance to bless others?
-Are you entrenched in home decorating, the latest finds, the cutest and best for your baby, or the best way to maximize your retirement dollars?
-DO YOU REALLY NEED THOSE THINGS?


2. Let's consider the things we think we have a "right" to.

North Americans have a perspective that we have a right to certain things...like a home, heat, food, clothes, education, a steady income, health care and a secure retirement plan. In our society, we have been taught that those things are the "right" of the people in the land of the free.

Consider how the Bible often deems "riches" with a negative. In the parable of the seeds sown into different soils, (Mark 19), Jesus speaks of the worries of the world and riches being deceitful, and the desire for other things coming in and choking out the Word, making it unfruitful.

That's pretty clear.

Do you want the Word to be choked out of your life? Do you wish to be unfruitful?

The Lord knows what we need, and is faithful to supply our needs. Consider the Bond-servant...no right to anything, but a willingness to serve his master completely and forever. Nothing is his own except his eternal reward. The bond-servant has no earthly riches, but his needs are provided for, and he gladly serves.

I think that is a picture of what we are called to be as true disciples. Our hearts are to be concerned with serving in gladness, our wealth, our abilities and our time to be used for giving, our hope to be in our eternal reward not earthly treasures. Our focus is not to be on the latest and greatest, but on the least and the lowest. Our sovereign placement in a rich society is to be used for His purposes in advancing His Kingdom. Our heart bent is to trust, obey and to love through sacrificial servant-hood.

Our undefiled worship is in remaining unstained in this materialistic world, as we share Christ with the people who make it and like it that way.

Stains

A while ago I posted about stains...specifically, how we, as Christians, can live in a filthy world, love and share the Gospel with the lost, but remain unstained. After all, it says in James that pure and undefiled religion (worship) in the sight of our Lord is ....to care for widows and orphans in their distress, and to keep yourself unstained by the world.

My first topic in this unofficial "Stains" series was about drunkenness, or more specifically, if Christians can live a lifestyle around parties and drunkenness, yet worship the Lord by remaining unstained all the while. My own thoughts on that were pretty clear, and those posts generated good discussion...thank you!

Next in line: Materialism

Let's face it, most of my readership lives in North America, a very affluent, and extremely materialistic society. We are blessed to have been placed in such affluence, when millions around the world go hungry. But at the same time, we are extremely challenged as Christ followers, not to fall into the trap of materialism. This is less by choice than my last topic, as it touches each of us by default.

I would like to have some discussion with you about this: How do we live in an affluent part of the world, but remain as pure and undefiled worshipers of our Lord by not bowing our knee to its affluence? What is the difference between need and want in our society? What can we do to pour out purer worship on our Lord in this respect? Does living in this part of the world mean we are automatically stained?

If you live outside of North America, I would love to hear about this from your perspective!

I value your Biblically-founded discussion.

Much needed time away...and Happy Birthday Mackenzie

Mackenzie, my first-born is nine. No, I don't think you heard me right...I said NINE! As in, one year shy of a decade.

It's not even right.

Instead of a party, this year we decided to take a mini-vacation as a family. Of course, living where we do, in the great white middle of nowhere, this meant an overnight trip to...you guessed it...Bangor. It was our kids' first hotel stay, and they were quite excited about 1) the elevator, 2) the free continental breakfast, 3) the fishy bowls on the breakfast tables, 4) the pool, hot tub and sauna, and 5) our one and only night to watch American Idol, since we no longer have cable.

It is so much fun to watch your kids' delight! We are so blessed to parent this brood. they are fun-loving, well-behaved and dynamic children. We have a blast together!

Our outings included the Children's Discovery Museum, Toys'R'Us, Petco, Bugaboo Creek and Applebee's. And of course, we did a lot of swimming in the Marriott pool. Best of all...it all happened thanks to Christmas money and gift cards we'd saved!

Sometimes it's just SO nice to escape, if even for only 36 hours!

See all of our adventure on film over here