I don’t know about you, but to me, the Apostle James is very straightforward and to the point in the New Testament Book of James. As the Holy Spirit moved upon him to write this Book in the Bible, we can see a lot of our Master Jesus’s imprint on his half-brother. Once converted, he followed the Lord with deep devotion, and James 1:1 conveys this because James referred to himself as a bondservant or slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. This reveals to us that he considered it a privilege and honor to relinquish his own will and be fully committed to do the Will of God. In James 3:3,5(NLT), he gives us a piece of God’s wisdom that will bring our own commitment to self-control front and center. He tells us, “3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.”
God commands us to walk in His wisdom, and a big part of getting this done is controlling the words that come out of our mouths. As spiritually mature believers, God holds us responsible for knowing what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. We need to use our mouths to bring glory to our wonderful God by blessing Him and blessing others. He commands us in Ephesians 4:29(NLT), “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”
Speak the truth
God’s Will is for us to continually grow in His love with everything that we do in life. He wants our lives to be a continual cycle of receiving and giving. 2Corinthians 5:20 tells us that we are ambassadors for Christ. As his adopted brothers and sisters, we are called by God to continue the ministry that Jesus began. Our privilege and responsibility are to pour into the lives of others by telling them about him so that they will remember who they are and come back to God. Our Heavenly Father’s heart is that everyone will accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. He wants everyone to be saved. This is how much He loves us all, and this is the Good News that we get to share, but sometimes, we don’t share it in a way that connects people with the love of Christ. Many of us have made a habit of using God’s Word to make our point and push our own agendas. We use it to promote ourselves as being right all the time, and this is not the way of Christ.
As we carry forth our responsibility to spread the Gospel as ambassadors of Christ, we must not try to weaponize God’s Word against people. In the age of social media, we see this a lot when people are trying to prove something or win an argument. We must examine our hearts, because falling into error in this way means that we’re not coming from a place of love. Instead, we bring selfishness, arrogance, and pride into our use of the Word when it should be reserved only and specifically to bring glory to God, and not ourselves.
A heart filled with God’s love
We must have the consciousness of Christ when the Word of God rolls from our lips. It’s important that we pay attention to the tone and texture of our delivery, because it must be aligned with the compassion, honesty, and tenderheartedness of our Blessed Lord. He tells us in Galatians 5:6(NLT), “For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.” In order for our faith to be expressed in love, our hearts must be humble and loving towards God, and we must be eager to please Him in every way. When our hearts are full of God’s love, the agenda laid out in His Word becomes our agenda. We no longer put ourselves first because we love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, as Christ commands in Mark 12:30.
Ephesians 4:15(NLT) says, “Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.” We must speak God’s truth in love. “Self” cannot be our main focus when the love of God is on our minds. We must always have the heart to deliver His truth in love, with no other ulterior motive but to glorify Him and His Kingdom. Never should we become so consumed with being right that we use God’s Word as a prop to hurt and tear down another person. His commandment is that we grow in every way more like Christ, and this means that we must submit to God’s Word and be humble enough to trust that His love is what open doors. His love opens the eyes of those that need to see and understand His truth, and His love should compel us to control our tongues. When this is firmly under our belts, our faith will be strengthened, and we will bring delight and honor to our Heavenly Father.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
“Speaking God’s Word in Love”, written by KLizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2023. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.