James 1:26-27
“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
James 1:26-27 NIV
An estimated 500 million tweets are sent from millions of Twitter accounts everyday. That breaks down to nearly 21 million tweets an hour, or over 5,700 every second. Sadly, more often than not, these tweets are filled with anything but benign, kind, encouraging words.
In our contentious religious, social, and political environments people use this medium to undercut, denounce, call out, or accuse not only their enemies but even their brothers and sisters in Christ. In an environment such as ours, wherein we can instantly communicate our thoughts, we would do well to consider deeply these words in these verses.
There are times when a large number of words leads to someone being described as “loquacious.” Then there are times when that same amount of words earns someone the moniker, “loud-mouthed.” It requires wisdom to discern the volume of words to use based on the context in which one is speaking.
In addition to this, how often have we left a conversation and thought to ourselves, “I wish I hadn’t said that.” An overabundance, and sometimes just abundance, of words often earns regret. By bridling our tongues we can consider more thoughtfully what we ought to say and when we ought to say it.
James says the person who does not bridle their tongue “deceives his heart.” A religion composed solely of words and sentiments is not Christianity. Rather, God calls His people to love Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to serve Him in both words and deeds. Be a disciple of Christ not just a convert.
James said worship of God only occurs when it is pure and undefiled. Pure and undefiled worship means the person is free from sin, guilt, falseness, insincerity, and anything that defiles the person and God. To be able to worship God this way, a person must be clean before God. That means a person must live a godly, Christ-filled life.
Now none of us is perfect and we all sin; therefore, when we go to worship the Lord, we must begin with confession and genuine repentance of our sins so that God may cleanse us from our sin and guilt. Only then will we be clean enough to worship before God. That is what the word “religious” means for Christians.
A religious Christian person is one who strives to walk daily with God becoming more like Christ. They obey God in action, word, and thought so that his or her love for Him is evident. They confess and repent of sins so that true worship of the Lord can occur.
The Christian faith is different in this way. We obey Him because of love for Him and what He did for us. Add that with reverential fear and true Christian faith is real and evident to others. When worship of God affects our daily lives in ways that affect our words, thoughts, and actions, then we can say we are truly worshipping God.
As the times in which we live become darker and darker, may we draw closer to the Lord with every passing day, as we seek to know more of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Let our hearts desire be to reflect the yearning desire of the ageing apostle Paul, who near the end of his life cried out, "That I may know Christ and the power of His resurrection and participate in the fellowship of His suffering," so that our Christian religion may be pure and undefiled, and our relationship with the Lord Jesus becomes increasingly intimate!!!
Father, thank You for this day and Your Word of truth and the wisdom that it contains. Lord, open the floodgates of Your abundant blessings and let them fall upon my friend and family today. Help us to live our lives as unto You in close communion so that my Christian religion may be pure and undefiled in Your sight. Lord, open our eyes to see the needs around us and give us a heart that longs to help people. Lord, use us as an instrument in Your hands to pick up the fallen and comfort the distressed. Be a blessing.
Father, we love You. Amen !
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