If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, then his religion is useless and he deceives himself.  Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this:  to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.  James 1:26-27 HCSB

Our scripture passage today speaks of being stained.  Before we get too far into this, let me tell you that it is referring to the bad kind of stain.  The bad kind of stain is the spaghetti sauce on your favorite white shirt.  The good kind of stain is the kind that brings out the beauty in wood.  Today we are talking about the spaghetti sauce kind of stain.

Our scripture passage begins with controlling our tongues.  I would venture to say that our mouths are what get us into trouble with the Lord most of the time.  Let’s face it.  We just can’t control them.  We start out with things in our heart that ought not be there, and those things fester in our mind and before you know it, they are rolling out our mouths.  Now this scripture passage tells us that if we can’t control our tongues then our religion is useless and we deceive ourselves.  Pretty harsh words, right?  But remember that the Bible has a lot to say about our tongues.  Proverbs 18:21, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.  I think our modern day translation is that someday we will eat our words, so I guess we should be careful that they are sweet and not bitter.  Proverbs 15:4 tells us that , A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.  1 Peter 3:10 says, For  “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;.   James 3:5 says, So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.  How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire.  We all know the destruction a single match can cause in a dry forest.

Now what we really need to remember is that the Bible tells us, that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak.  For by your words you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned, in Matthew 12:36-37.  Now, I don’t know about you, but I have had many, many words come out of my mouth that I would prefer not to give an account for.  We know that the Bible tells us that once we confess our sin to God and repent that He will forgive us (1 John 1:9).  We also know once we repent of our sin that God forgets our sins (Jeremiah 31:34).  The Bible even tells us that God so completely removes our sin that it is as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

Mark Twain said, “It’s better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than open it and remove all doubt”.  The same can be said about our mouths in relation to our Christianity and our relationship with our Lord and Savior.  You see when I am around someone who is quiet and doesn’t talk a lot, I think that they are shy or perhaps they are observing those around them.  But we have all been around the blow hard that doesn’t give anyone else a chance to say a word.  This person will usually stick his foot in his mouth.

So what does your mouth say about your Christianity?  Does it say that you have been washed white as snow and you are living a life exemplary of Jesus Christ to the best of your ability?  Or, does it say that although you profess to be a Christian out of one side of your mouth, the other side says something totally different?  Perhaps the other side shows the stains from the world.

Let’s face it, we all get mad.  We all vent and blow off steam to close friends, but we must be careful about what comes out of our mouths.  We must remember that we will answer to God for every word said.  My mom used to tell me that if I couldn’t say something good about someone to not say anything at all.  I would love to say that I always heed that advice, but I don’t.  Now you may not find that exact saying in the Bible, but Ephesians 4:29 says, No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.  

If there is one area that I have trouble with, it’s my mouth.  My prayer for me and you today is that God helps us to guard our mouths.  I pray that I can live out Ephesians 4:29 and follow my momma’s advice.  I pray that you can too.  Remember to ask God to forgive you for any words that have come out of your mouth that may not be pleasing to Him.  Ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit to help you to remove all bitterness and anger so that it doesn’t spill out of your mouth.

My dear friend used to always say that we often times run our mouths in high gear when our brain is in neutral.  So before you speak, take a minute to put the brain in high gear and the mouth in neutral.  Think about what you are about to say and in today’s age of social media about what you are going to type.  Is it going to please God?  Will you stand before Him and get a big kudos for what you said?  Or will you displease God?  Will you grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30)?  When other people hear what you have to say, will it confirm your Christianity or will it show how you are stained by the world?  Just a few things to think about this weekend.

Have a great weekend!