A Goody From Woody

Just started a book by Eugene Peterson called, TelI it Slant. It’s about the words Jesus chose to communicate the glorious truths of God’s Good News to all mankind. Peterson argues that Genesis 3 was the beginning of our “language catastrophe.” Certainly Adam and Eve’s sin changed everything. Nothing is the same because of that event. Have you ever thought about how our words—our communication—has been affected by sin? Dr. Albert Mohler, on one of his recent plane trips, accompanied by colleague Matthew J. Hall, was lamenting with sadness the people around them on the plane and the communication they were using. Two young men behind Dr. Mohler and Mr. Hall were expressing their ideas in a very crude way—discussing the quality control on pornography. It is a true statement that “our words reveal our spiritual maturity or lack of it.”

If I encouraged you to watch your language I would only be focusing on the negative. If you want to change how you say something, on thing is essential: you must spend more time in deep fellowship with your savior. We can’t be in intimate fellowship with him and continue to use words or ideas that are not Christ-honoring. St. Peter says this in 1 Peter 2:1-2, “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”

James 3:1-6 says this: “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is on fire by hell.

James really says it well and says it all. Let’s guard our hearts in 2010 and let’s begin with our words.

God bless,
Woody"The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” -Luke 6:45