FROM TODAY'S READING (12/27/2013)
In 1752, a group of Methodist men, which included John Wesley, signed a covenant that provides an excellent model for us in the matter of gossip. The six articles of their solemn agreement read:
1. We will not listen or willingly inquire after ill concerning one another;
2. That, if we do hear of any ill of each other, we will not be forward to believe it;
3. That as soon as possible we will communicate what we hear by speaking or writing to the person concerned;
4. That until we have done this, we will not write or speak a syllable of it to any other person;
5. That neither will we mention it, after we have done this, to any other person:
6. That we will not make any other exception to any of these rules unless we think ourselves absolutely obliged in conference.
- Tann, Paul Lee. Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Rockville, Maryland: Assurance Publishers, 1979, pg. 526
James 3:1-12 (NLT) Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 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. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.
