Jump Start # 1260

James 1:26  If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.

  The congregation that I worship with live streams their Sunday services. Recently they started live streaming videos of the services. Someone was telling me about how cool it was to see the preacher and the powerpoint slides together. I wasn’t sure what they meant so I watched a recent video. It was a video of me preaching. I couldn’t take very much of that. It was painful. I saw many things about my mannerisms that I didn’t like. I’ve gotten to the point where I can listen to myself preach. I’m not there with watching myself. I guess I’m too critical. It was very uncomfortable exercise for me to do that.

All of this connects us to our verse today. We often have a hard time seeing ourselves as others see us. We typically live at one polar extreme or the other. Either, we tihnk too much of ourselves or we think too little of ourselves. The too much crowd must deal with pride. They believe that they can part water and that the world just can’t get along without them. They think their value is more than that it really is. This gets them in trouble. They feel that they deserve more pay than what the bosses feel like giving them. They think their ideas and opinions ought to top every list. The problem is they don’t see themselves as everyone else does.

The other extreme is just as troublesome. They have so little self worth and value that they think no one cares, needs them or wants to know what they think. This group never speaks out, defends self or has an independent idea. They can’t handle rejection, criticism or a vote against them, so they offer very little to discussions. They, like the first group, do not see themselves as others see them.

Our passage from James today, deals with self deception. That’s the worst kind of deception. Deception comes in many forms. Wolves in sheep clothing are a form of deception. False teaching is a form of deception. Eve was deceived by Satan as he twisted words and ideas in her head. But the worst of all is when a person deceives himself. He is convinced of things that are not true.

The James passage illustrates this concept very well. Here, James presents, is a man who claims to be religious. There are certain things we’d expect from someone who would make that claim. However, as James reveals, this person does not bridle his tongue. His tongue gets him into trouble. James is not specific at this point. Later in the book he tells us much more about the tongue. Here, it’s just an opening principle. The unbridled tongue is like a horse without a bridle. It is not under control. It’s likely to do anything and go anywhere. Included in this would be gossip, berating someone, unfair criticism, chewing someone out, negativism, cussing, unwholesome words, bragging about self, unfair judging and putting others down. There is a lot of harm that can come from our tongues. We can build someone up or we can destroy them. Just consider a few phrases:

• You can’t do anything right
• You’re fat
• You’re ugly
• You’re stupid
• You’ll never accomplish anything

It doesn’t take too much of those things, coming from a parent, a mate, a child, or a friend, to just tear you up on the inside. We tend to forget compliments, but we never forget criticism. Decades later, we can remember harsh things a parent said to us. They have branded us and in some cases, marred us for life.

James is looking at someone who thinks he is religious but he has no control on his tongue. He has no filters. He talks without thinking. He just might say anything to anyone. He leaves a path of destruction everywhere he goes. He chews out strangers in restaurants if the food is too slow or not just right. He screams at drivers that he feels are incompetent. He hollers at the kids. He is overly critical of those he disagrees with at church. His mouth is a weapon of mass destruction. Yet, in all of this, he doesn’t get it. He deceives himself. He thinks he is religious. He thinks he’s alright. He things he’s going to Heaven. He has fooled himself. He doesn’t see himself as others do. He thinks he is better than most and the reality is, he’s actually worse than most.

Seeing ourselves as we truly are is hard to do. Some never get there. Some live in a delusional world that how they see themselves is how others see them. The worst of all of this is that how we see ourselves is often how we think God sees us. This is the danger and the problem. This is what James was driving at. The religious man in James 1 never saw himself as having a worthless religion. He never saw himself as God did.

Deceiving ourselves will keep us safe and unchanged. We are convinced that we are fine when we are not. So how do we see what God sees? We don’t get to watch a video of ourselves every moment of every day. The answer must be through the Scriptures. Looking at what God expects and wants from us and then being honest. That’s the key. It’s the honest and good heart in the parable of the sower that brought change. It was a reality check that led the prodigal home. Honest. Honest with our faith. Honest with our worship. Honest with our sins. Honest with our feelings. Hebrews tells us that the word of God can divide the bone and marrow—it cuts through excuses and false deceptions. Let the Bible look at your heart.

Seeing ourselves as God sees us is important. In this way you will understand that you are not trash that sickens God. He loves you. He wants you in Heaven. He is willing to forgive you. It will show you where you are doing well. It will show you what you need to work on. Deceptions hides the truth. Deception keeps us from changing.

Watching yourself from Heaven’s perspective will help you guard your mouth, your motives and your attitudes. The little children have something right when they sing, “Be careful little mouth what you say…be careful little mouth what you say…for the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little mouth what you say.”

Honest. It can be as painful as watching a video of yourself. It can also be helpful. I went back and finished watching myself preach. I’m glad I did. You need to watch yourself, not on a video, but through the lens of Heaven. It will help you.

Roger