Series: Youth for Jesus
Number: Vol. 8, No. 1
“If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” (James 1:26NIV)
Who is James talking to in our opening text? He is talking to those who consider themselves to be religious. And do we have people who think of themselves as religious? We do! Yes, we have people who see themselves as men and women who know God, love God, worship God and have God’s ears.
Now is anything wrong with seeing ourselves in that light? Well, James does not say that something is wrong with seeing ourselves as those who know God, who know where He lives and who also know what He eats. But he tells us that this view of ourselves ought to have some serious impact on what comes out of our mouths. Otherwise, we are simply lying to ourselves about knowing God and worshiping Him. That means our religion is worthless.
Sadly, we have many today who think of themselves as God’s deputies but who exercise no control whatsoever over what comes out of their mouths. These ones say anything that comes to their minds, without weighing it to see whether it is good or bad or whether it honours God or dishonours Him. And if anyone tries to correct them or to show them that they are supposed to be talking like those who know God and not like little devils, they will not be slow at all to abuse or curse the person as well.
Now perhaps you are like that. You can abuse or curse anyone and anything. You can even get the dead to be stirred up in their graves through your abusive words. Yet you call yourself a Christian or a child of God. The word of God is coming to you now and telling you that you are self-deceived. Truly, you may think that you know God and are serving Him.
But you are simply a joker. Your religion is worthless. In other words, what you are doing in your worship of God makes no sense to Him at all. And that is because your so-called relationship with Him has not yet changed you.See, when a man comes into a relationship with God, the first obvious change that will be seen in his life has to do with the way he talks. He will no longer want to speak carelessly or loosely. Instead, he will want to speak love and grace.
Yes, this may initially prove difficult for him to do, especially if he has been a loose talker all his life. But he will begin to make effort by the power of the Spirit of God in him to speak differently. Yes, he will begin to make effort to show through his words that he is no longer a sinner. And if he continues like that and does not stop, it will not be long before he realises that loose taking is no longer an option for him.
So, if you are still loose in the way you talk, if nothing appears to be too corrupt or unclean for you to say with your mouth, you are either saying that you don’t know God at all or have utterly forgotten that you have been saved by Him. And it does not matter what religious title or titles you carry around on your head, your religion is worthless – it is simply a joke.If you, then, do not want your religion to remain a joke, you have to begin to put a tight rein on your tongue.
That means you have to now begin to teach your tongue not to say just anything that comes to your mind. Yes, impure, corrupt and hurtful things may still want to come out of your mouth. But you must not allow them to come out of it, for your tongue is meant to speak only those things that glorify God and also edify men, not things that dishonour them.
My prayer is that you will daily find in God all the strength you need to keep these words in mind and to also begin to put them to work in your life and affairs. Amen.