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What We Can Contribute to Building a Peaceful and Just Society
James 3:1-4:12
James 3 (The Message)
1-2Don't be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you'd have a perfect person, in perfect control of life.
3-5A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!
5-6It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
7-10This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can't tame a tongue—it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!
10-12My friends, this can't go on. A spring doesn't gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don't bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don't bear apples, do they? You're not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?
13-16Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn't wisdom. It's the furthest thing from wisdom—it's animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats.
17-18Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.
James 4
1-2 Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don't have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn't yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.
2-3You wouldn't think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you'd be asking for what you have no right to. You're spoiled children, each wanting your own way.
4-6You're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn't care? The proverb has it that "he's a fiercely jealous lover." And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you'll find. It's common knowledge that "God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble."
7-10So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.
11-12Don't bad-mouth each other, friends. It's God's Word, his Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk. You're supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it. God is in charge of deciding human destiny. Who do you think you are to meddle in the destiny of others?
James 3:1-4:12
James 3 (The Message)
1-2Don't be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you'd have a perfect person, in perfect control of life.
3-5A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!
5-6It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
7-10This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can't tame a tongue—it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!
10-12My friends, this can't go on. A spring doesn't gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don't bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don't bear apples, do they? You're not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?
13-16Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn't wisdom. It's the furthest thing from wisdom—it's animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats.
17-18Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.
James 4
1-2 Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don't have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn't yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.
2-3You wouldn't think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you'd be asking for what you have no right to. You're spoiled children, each wanting your own way.
4-6You're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn't care? The proverb has it that "he's a fiercely jealous lover." And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you'll find. It's common knowledge that "God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble."
7-10So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.
11-12Don't bad-mouth each other, friends. It's God's Word, his Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk. You're supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it. God is in charge of deciding human destiny. Who do you think you are to meddle in the destiny of others?
Introduction
The first message in the series, entitled “A Closer Look at Trials” encouraged us not to resent trials but to take them as occasion to be joyful, to be wise and fair, and to consider the goodness of God.
The second message, “A No-Nonsense Faith” challenged us to find ways to unite our thoughts and actions.
The second part of Francis M.’s ‘Kaleidoscope World’ aptly illustrates the issues we are going to address in the third message in our series.
Some are great and some are few
Others lie while some tell the truth
Some say poems and some do sing
Others sing through their guitar strings
Some know it all while some act dumb
Let the bass line strum to the bang of the drum
Some can swim while some will sink
And some will find their minds and think
Others walk while others run
You can't talk peace and have a gun
Some are hurt and start to cry
Don't ask me how don't ask me why
Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most
Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slope
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
Spinnin' round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world
Today, we will talk about our contribution to building a peaceful and just society. Each of us plays an important role in this endeavor. As the song says, no matter how big or small our role may be, it adds color to our society. Our premise is that the church should take the lead in upholding peace and righteousness in the society.
Let us put the church in the forefront of promoting:
I. Maturity and Discipline (3:1-12)
Proper use of the tongue indicates maturity. The problems in James’s day were quite different from what we experience today. But they way we react or respond to problems and trials are the same. James addressed the issue of the use of tongue to the teachers of his day. His reference to teachers was not restricted to individuals selected for an official and specific task of teaching. He was referring to nearly impulsive effort by individuals to teach whenever they felt the leadership of God’s Spirit. Certainly, there were individuals in James’s day who eagerly desire to be teachers but do not realize the accompanying responsibility. Thus, he warned them to be cautious because teachers receive greater condemnation or judgment.
They way use our tongue indicates the level of our maturity. We are all teachers in our own rights. The way we talk and act greatly influences people. Teachers have great influence. Do you remember the persons who were most influential in your own life? Your school teachers, Sunday school teachers, youth advisers, parents, and a lot more persons who influenced the way you think, talk, and act. In fact, there were times that the influence of teachers may be more far-reaching than that of parents.
If the tongue is disciplined the whole person is disciplined as well. James used the analogy of bits in the horse’s mouth, rudder, and forest fires set by a small fire. All these examples point to how a small thing called tongue can build or ruin lives and communities. The point James is trying to drive is that a disciplined tongue means a disciplined life. If we as Christians are mature and disciplined, we can be sure that building a peaceful and just society is not difficult to achieve.
II. True Wisdom (3:13-18)
False wisdom is selfish and arrogant. Once more we are reminded of James’s insistence that the good qualities of life must be shown in practical ways. Another challenge was thrown by the writer to his recipients: “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.”(3:13-14, NASB, italics added).
There are many in our churches today who claim to such achievements. It is easy and pleasant to claim wisdom, but such self-proclaimed wisdom is seldom true wisdom. True wisdom never calls attention to itself, never displays itself for personal profit. If one claims he is wise yet he displays a selfish and arrogant life, his wisdom is false. Let this be known from the government, corporate and business executives to the lowly daily wage workers that true wisdom is pure and peace loving never selfish and arrogant.
It is not enough to brag about wisdom; it is not enough to claim to have understanding. These qualities, if real, will manifest themselves in the type of life lived. The wise man shows his works, not his wisdom. The man who is wise and understanding “is to show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.”
Christians need to translate their wisdom into concrete or tactile conduct because that is what our society needs today.
III. Preventive Measures (4:1-12)
The roots of discord are sinfulness, worldliness, and bad-mouthing. Why do such things happen in the life of these Jewish Christians? They quarrel, they envy one another, they kill, they slander, and they compromise with worldly patterns. It was wrong. They were wrong because their actions showed a complete disregard for the personality of the other individual. They were wrong because their actions indicated a total misunderstanding of God. They were wrong because their actions were unworthy of the Christ whom these people claimed they love and serve. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matt. 5:9). By avoiding such mistakes, we are doing our society an act of kindness.
Humility is one effective preventive measure. Humility is the very opposite of pride. To humble ourselves before God means we must admit that we have nothing upon which to rely in the presence of God. Our best is worthless before him. Our few good deeds are meaningless because of our sin. In the final analysis, we must rely totally upon God’s mercy. Instead of quarreling over worldly matters, Christians from James’s period to the present time must rely solely upon God. We should not rely on our own wisdom; we should not rely on our own strength rather let society see that our strength and wisdom come from God. We should avoid false humility instead; let us avoid the mistakes of James’s readers by being humble all the time and in all places.
Conclusion
The task of building a peaceful and just society rests in the shoulders of every concerned citizen. However, the church as mandated by the Lord, should take the lead in this endeavor. In order to accomplish this task effectively, we need to make sure that there is peace, righteousness, and humility inside the church. These virtues will abundantly flow from our church to our community until such time that the entire society is immersed in the peace, humility, and righteousness of the Lord. We will refuse to let this flow be hampered by the sinfulness of the world.
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