Enemy Fire

March 8

Read: James 1:26

Enemy Fire

“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.(v.26)

Sooner or later our words will reveal what our mind, will, and emotions think and feel. It is inevitable. There is one important caveat though in all of this: We must remember that what we think and feel is not necessarily who we are! Our deepest and truest self is the new identity that has been given to us in Christ… in a way, you may think of this as your “new creation / born of the Spirit / spiritual self.” (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17, John 3:5, 1 Cor. 2:14, etc.)

We know this to be true because the scriptures teach us to “take captive every thought” and to accept the  “renewal of our minds”. (cf. 2 Cor. 10:5, Rom. 12:1-2) What this tells us is that we have thoughts that come through our head that are not ours - they are not anchored in our deepest self - but rather are from the enemy. (see also Rom. 7:20,23) What is the upshot of all this? Our words … our “tongue” as James puts it … needs to be “bridled”. Our tongue (our speech) needs to be under control. When we say things that are out of alignment with Christ… that are rooted in our false-self and not the true self / new identity we have been given - well it is a form of lying really. When we lie we are divided … broken up… we become fragmented and “un-whole”. This is why it is such a rich and important part of our faith and relationship with God to begin to bridle our tongue.

This biblical truth goes beyond simply not saying bad words. It is pointing to the deeper heart matters behind the words that we say. Imagine if you were hateful towards a person, and spoke words to them rooted in hatred but were able to avoid saying “swear words” … would that be any good? Imagine if you were seeking to manipulate someone, and you did it with kind words and a pleasant tone… would that be any good? In fact, this last example is important because many of us HAVE “controlled” our tongues in this way - think of when you wanted to try and get something from someone, and the way you spoke to them was deliberate so that you could get what you wanted! This is “bridling” or controlling your tongue towards those selfish means. We have all done it towards a less noble end - now it is time to do this in a healthy way for Jesus. The tongue (our speech) is that final stop in a way between what is happening inside of us and what makes it out into the world. The spiritual practice… the practice of faith… is to “take every thought captive” and through the “renewal of our mind” that comes from being a “living sacrifice” committed to Jesus we can think before we speak and align our tongue with our true spiritual self. In this way, our words will go out into the world and represent Christ in us.

There is no way to control your tongue without looking at the heart motives that you are experiencing within you. This is why it is such a practice of faith. The same skills that “take every thought captive” are the ones that control the tongue. (cf. 1 Cor. 2 again) All of these things are woven together in the life of faith in Christ. One final note: when we do lose control and our tongue lets loose… there is one silver lining; the enemy has shown us his location within us. It is as if those thoughts and ideas that war against God Most High fire away from their hidden positions or “strongholds” within us, and launch their fiery darts of attack from our very mouths. (cf.1 Cor. 10:4 Eph. 6:16) When they do this, they reveal their position so that we can take them captive and hand them over to Christ. Our act of faith is hunting down the thoughts and ideas within our mind, will, and emotions that way against the Lord. Our speech is the perfect cue as to where to look! Maybe the children’s song is more true than we thought: “be careful little mouth what you way”. Let this be our practice of faith - controlling our tongue. Love you guys. - JDP