Highlighting – “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.” (v. 9)
We were created to give all glory to God in praise and worship (Isaiah 43:7,21), but often we use our mouths to do the contrary (James 3:10). James tells us here that men were created in God’s image, yet we curse one another. One second, we are praising God, the next second we are speaking falsely about another, gossiping or bashing our brothers and sisters in Christ. As we can see in these verses, God is not pleased with this. He did not give us breath and mouths to harm each other, but to edify and encourage (Ephesians 4:29). There is blessing in worshiping God and the real worshipers will worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24).
Consider Jehoshaphat, who appointed men to proceed in front of the Israelite army to sing and praise the Lord, before they went into battle against Ammon and Moab. What did the Lord do in response to this worship? He turned Ammon and Moab against the men at Mount Seir, then they killed one another. By the time the army of Israel arrived at the enemy camp, all they saw were dead bodies, please read 2 Chronicles 20:1 – 30. You don’t know how many demonic forces and armies you are defeating when you go into praise and worship, but when we’re saying things that are ungodly, it’s almost as if we’re feeding these evil spirits and giving them place in our lives. The power of life and death is in the tongue, speak life (Proverbs 18:21)!
Today, let’s consider the words that we speak. Ask, was that pleasing to God? Did those words glorify God? Did those words edify anyone who heard me or make them turn away from God / cause division? What’s the topic of most of my conversations with others? I think this practice on a consistent basis will eventually lead to a new you, a more God-focused, Christ-centered you. Please try it and let me know how it goes – I’d love to hear testimonies of the effectiveness of this exercise.
Dear God, may I draw nearer to you every moment of every day. Father, help me to guard my mouth and be more thoughtful of the words that I speak. I want to glorify You and be in a constant state of worship. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I may overcome the temptation to say things that are unpleasing to you and damaging to the ears of those around me. May the words I say going forward prove to be a blessing to others. May I truly worship you in Spirit and in truth. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen!
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