Week 21: Day 2
In today's Orbit reflection, Joe asks us whether we recognise the impact of our speech.
Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you – who are you to judge your neighbour?
Intro: Welcome back to Orbit! My name is Joe, it’s so good to have you here today.
We are journeying through James 4 and 5 and as we said yesterday, James is such an interesting book- it’s challenging, it’s real, full of wisdom, there’s so much we can learn from it if we want to live authentic lives following Jesus. We are following on from yesterday in James 4, so let’s get going!
Bible: We are reading James 4, from verses 11-12.
Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you – who are you to judge your neighbour?
Thoughts: The reason I want to focus on these verses is that I think it’s so important to recognise the impact of our words and the power they have – particularly in the context of our lives as followers of Jesus, words can be incredibly destructive. James is making it really clear – he says in verse 11 do not slander. Slander is another word for ‘bad-mouth’
Earlier in James 3, James says ‘Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.’ And… ‘The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body’. James recognises the impact the tongue has – that as part of our body, it is incredibly important. Do we recognise the importance it has?
And when James says it corrupts the whole body, I don’t think he is just talking about our own human bodies but also a body of believers. Paul in 1 Corinthians refers to the church as ‘the body of Christ’ and what James says is that your tongue – your bad-mouthing – has the power to be destructive to the whole body. Your slander can impact more than one individual but can impact the whole body, the whole Church.
And we know this to be true don’t we? We know the impact that slander can have on the unity of the Church, the unity of our friendship and our families. Words can be so important – so how often do we think about what we are saying? James commands us in this passage: “Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another”.
Secondly, I think James is also interested in the deep-rooted reasons why we might ‘bad mouth’ people… He’s concerned not just about the body of Christ, but also ourselves. And often when we judge, bad-mouth, slander, it’s because of comparison. Comparison is often described as ‘the thief of joy’. We might be envious of how many mates they have, or we have FOMO. We can compare ourselves to others, we can try and belittle others to lift up ourselves. I think we all do it to some extent.
And God’s prayer for us, reflected in this passage in James, is that we would know the love God has for us all – that he made us in particular and unique ways, with unique gifts and skills and character. That he doesn’t want us to judge others, compare ourselves to others, but to know the deep, unfathomable love he has for us.
Here’s a helpful saying: “We rise by lifting others”. It’s so true for us as followers of Jesus. Let's choose to instead of bad-mouth, to lift each other up. So my prayer is that we would know that we might rest in God’s love for us.
Prayer: Thank you God for the wisdom that James has for our lives. The wisdom of knowing the power of the tongue, the power it has to destroy lives and friendships. I pray Lord would you help us to not slander or bad-mouth people but instead choose to lift them up and encourage. And finally, Father I pray each of us today would know, deep inside of us, the love you have for us and would you help us to live in that love today. Amen.
Silence: And now a few moments of silence for you to pray, reflect on these ideas, or simply sit and be still.
Action: Every day on Orbit we try to give you a simple practical challenge to help you put this passage into action in your life. Here's today's: Instead of the bad mouthing that James talks about, let’s send an encouraging message to a friend – let’s build them up! In a world with lots of negativity, let’s be a light.
Outro: That's it for today's Orbit. Thanks so much for joining me – I’ll be back with another reflection tomorrow.