Sep 5 2019 James 3:13- 4:12

Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.

After yesterday’s reading all about the potential evil of an untamable tongue, this writing continues with a lot of talk about wisdom, and makes the connection that good works come from wisdom from God. This I love.

This highlights for me the difference between social-service-good-works, and God’s-good-works. Good works from God’s wisdom, truly done from God’s wisdom look different, I think. They are so grounded in the humility of the wisdom from God, that the good-deed-doer looks different, because the wisdom from God looks different than altruism, or even empathy.

Wisdom from above, as described later in this passage is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. Deeds that come from this level of pure wisdom look different. Are different.

We are all human beings, subject to the failings of being mere mortals. Sometimes well-intentioned and nominally God-inspired deeds get corrupted because we are corrupted and imperfect. Sometimes in the effort to be good, we become tainted with hypocrisy, or condescension, or judgment. Sometimes people help others because they want to feel superior. I’ve been at churches where the leader of an outreach ministry said they did their outreach to help the disadvantaged. The implication was that they helped those who weren’t as lucky or privileged as they were. I remember a sense of outrage, and deep sadness. The judgment that makes people feel superior cuts them off from the deep joy of sitting with another child of God, and mutually learning and building each other up.

I’ve also seen people who do good deeds that are absolutely pure, full of mercy, peaceable, and gentle. They serve and love and share with others from a genuine belief that we are all in this together. A few examples.. One woman shared the shoes off her feet for someone without any. One woman brought warm food out to the construction workers outside. One church brought cookies and coffee out to the people protesting outside the church because of the church’s position on marriage equality. One friend brought a gallon of half and half to a homeless breakfast every time, because as she said, “I won’t stand for the powdered whitener. Why should they?”.

Watching people do good deeds from that deep source of God’s pure and gentle wisdom is an absolute joy. It actually makes me tear up a little, every time I see it. To me, it proves there is a purpose, and a source of our deep desire to help and serve.

 This morning, I’m thinking about all of the people I know, respect and admire who do good deeds born of God’s gentle, pure, merciful wisdom. Today, I aim to be ever-more like that.

Sep 4 2019 James 3:1-12

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes.

In this letter, the author is telling the people to mind their tongues. Later in this passage, he says, “No one can tame the tongue – a restless evil, full of deadly poison Ouch! That is so true, isn’t it? I can manage much, but occasionally I say things I oughtn’t, and I almost know it as soon as the words come out of my mouth. Why is it we cannot master our tongues?

The author begins this section talking about teachers, that not many should become teachers because teachers will be judged with greater strictness. What I understand from this is that because we cannot tame our tongue, and teachers are held to a higher standard, we ought to be very careful, presuming we can teach – for all of us make many mistakes.

Thinking about this, I’m struck that we’re all teachers to someone. In particular, I’m thinking about parents, who all are effectively teachers with the greatest job in the world. Parents are, in fact held to a stricter standard, particularly by our kids, aren’t we? We make many mistakes, don’t we? And we’re still as unable to master our tongues, aren’t we?

What can we learn from this letter as teaching parents, imperfect and yet held to a strict standard? This section also says that from the same mouth come blessings and curses. Yes! But what to do, what to do…

The parts of this letter that follow this morning’s reading talk about wisdom and kind acts. It doesn’t talk about the tongue, but talks about doing acts of kindness and gentleness. ‘A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace’.

This reminds me that even in my grouchiest moments, my heart is full of love and kindness. Maybe we’re called to redirect ourselves from words to actions when our words are moving towards ugly – when we’re unable to tame our tongues. Even in the midst of an untamed tongue, my heart overflows with love. SO, maybe one strategy to tame the tongue is to just keep the mouth shut. Say nothing during those moments when I know it’s untamed. Instead, take a loving action. It seems incongruous, to do something nice when angry. But I believe we all have it in us to do loving things, even when the tongue is ready to set fire to everything around.

In advance of my tongue going rogue, I generally have a little notice. I can sense it rising up in me, whether it’s a sense of indignation, hurt or frustration. At that precise moment, I will stop, and refocus on doing something loving. Maybe laundry. Or dishes. Or go buy a gift. Just talking about doing something steeped in goodness makes me feel a little lighter. How much better to actually do it, right in the midst of an untamable tongue. 

This morning, I’m thinking about how to use that rising sense of a rogue tongue as a prompt to reach deep and tap the love and kindness that exists in my heart, even when my head is wanting to go a different direction.