thoughts of late

James 3: 1-12

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 set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh. Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.

my tongue has been a thorn in my side for many years. since accepting Christ, i have made a concerted effort to bite it, yet i am in constant war. when i'm angry, you'll know. when i believe in something, i feel the need to share. i've tried to tame my words. i do try to walk away now when i'm mad, to try and collect intelligent and caring ways to express my anger rather than hate filled smears. but until recently, i've continued to voice my opinions to anyone who will hear me. case in point, walmart. which if you click here, you'll see all of my posts on the issue...the first (last posted) being an apology for being a selfish hypocrite.

the past 8 weeks have completely changed my outlook on life. put things in perspective really. and seeing all of the me's out there in the world who open their mouth before thinking, watching them causing hurt and strife amongst community, is frustrating. i know where thy are. so immature in their thinking. thinking they know whats best for everyone. wanting only what's best really, but not choosing to walk the humbled road, and rather using their tongues as swords.

i know what it's like to 'know what's right', 'what's better'. but what i've always kept forgetting is that it might not be the better way for everyone, or rather maybe some don't have any other choice. and all i'm doing by shooting my mouth off is making them feel crappy. i've had many conversations about the walmart debate with friends i've pissed off or hurt. those conversations suck. because i was never trying to cause people to feel bad, i just wanted them to see that there's another way. but i now see how shooting my mouth off, does affect people because i am seeing other people shoot their mouths off.

we all have soapboxes we like to stand on. supporting this or that. but how is our bashing of, whatever we believe in, uniting one another? i have friends of all sorts. my friends consist of christains, non-christians, atheists, buddists...let's just stop the religion listing...we could be here awhile...hippies, conservatives, selfish, generous, rich, poor...i think my friends run the gamut. my friends and i have lots of beliefs, but what unites us is love. sure, there are other things...music, food, beliefs, beer, work...but what keeps us friends is the love. if i go to my christian friend and start spatting off that their beliefs are whacked, what kind of friend am i being? if i go off on my poor friend about shopping somewhere i don't agree with, how is that showing love? how will that unites us?

being human, i think the hardest thing to tame is our tongues, yet we've all been lashed out upon and know how badly it hurts. why is that? why do we have a deep seated determination to change people to see our way, follow our beliefs? why can't we look away from the things we don't agree upon within a friends life? if it's not hurting them, who are we to judge? and if we do feel the need to reach out, can't we find a way out of love to discuss the matter, rather than slashing as a sword.

i think we need to start reexamining our intentions. why would we feel such a burning desire to put something down in someones life? isn't it better to meet a friend where they're at, love them there and support them though their days, rather than criticizing them? can't we put our agendas down and swap them with love?