James 4:11-17
11Do not speak evil
against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another
or judges another, speaks evil against the law and judges the law; but if you
judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12There is
one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are
you to judge your neighbor? 13Come now, you who say, “Today or
tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing
business and making money.” 14Yet you do not even know what tomorrow
will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little
while and then vanishes. 15Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord
wishes, we will live and do this or that.” 16As it is, you boast in
your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17Anyone, then, who knows
the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.
The book of James certainly lays it out for all of us. The writer doesn’t mince words when it comes
to telling us what it means to live a faith-filled life.
In verses 13-17, we are told that the wise find satisfaction
with God, while the foolish indulge in selfish patterns of material
profit.
How often do we put ourselves in the position of God, the
one who gives the law and judges accordingly to the law? In doing so, we often are able to ignore the
failures we have in living according to the law—maybe suggesting or convincing
ourselves that at least we aren’t as bad as “they are.”
I wonder often, what if everyone, EVERYONE were to focus on
their lives and their relationship with God.
If we live in the joy and promise of the one creator, what joy would we
all experience? So many people waste
time judging others, and this is a waste of time.
Let us pray: Loving and giving God, you are our creator and
our judge, yet we find ways in which to judge others while failing to live
according to your plan in our own lives.
Help us to live as you wish, humble, right, in relationship with a
forgiving and loving heart. Amen.
1/5/15--Yesterday we talked in worship about the power of words, particularly the Word. We were reminded how words really do have power and even when we think we are just having fun with someone by teasing, those words hurt. We do it so often without even knowing it. I wonder if we consider this talking evil against someone?
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