The other day I saw an old cowboy sitting in the back of his Ford F-350. He was a leathery faced, cowboy-hat-toting, old school cowboy. He was sitting on the edge of the pickup bed, pretty sure he had a big dip in his mouth, and was sharpening his knife like he was on the North 40 about to skin a rabbit. The irony was that he was sitting in the parking lot of Starbucks, with his triple venti latte next to him, his earbuds lodged in his ears, talking on his iPhone.
Somehow grouping a knife with Starbucks and technology seems a bit random. They just don’t go together.
I’ve typically felt the same way when reading scripture about sharp objects and our words. Intellectually, I can easily make the connection. But I think in application, most of us fail to couple the two together. We treat them as unrelated. Somehow we forget that the two go naturally together. And when that reality is neglected, it’s usually a really bad thing that results.
Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,David reminds us that his enemy’s conspiracy and evil talk are intentional daggers against him. Throughout scripture we are reminded that it’s not just our enemies that do so, we must be aware, we do it as well:
from that noisy crowd of evildoers.
They sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim their words like deadly arrows.
Psalm 64:2-3
Help, LORD, for the godly are no more;Father, Your Word tells us that our tongue is like a ships rudder. Such a small thing turns the entire ship. Many times we are sabotaged by our own tongues. We betray ourselves. We betray others. We do damage beyond what our heart intends. Help us God. If what comes out of our mouth is a true overflow of our hearts… please help us. Help us to pray the claim of Job, “my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will utter no deceit.” We cannot do this on our own. We need a new heart. We need a new mind. Help us in Jesus name, Amen.
the faithful have vanished from among men.
Everyone lies to his neighbor;
their flattering lips speak with deception.
May the LORD cut off all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue that says,
"We will triumph with our tongues;
we own our lips - who is our master?"
Psalm 12:1-4
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I see it as a comfort over need. We, at least me, are so comfortable in our society these days. I think what it must have been like for my grandparents to not only survive during the depression and WW II but, to fall in love and start a family. I would like to think I am tough enough to do that but, I would hate to test that thought. My grandmother is the picture of caring and forgiveness. There are more ex-wives at our family's Christmas gathering than real wives. BUT there was a point in her life, the depression, husband in Italy, where she NEEDED God. If we take a look at our lives, and be honest, how many times have we actually been face down in NEED? Don't get me wrong, I understand and believe 100% that we NEED God to forgive our sins. I mean when we have absolutely nothing else besides the clothes on our body, need. How many times has that happened? For me never. I am so comfortable it is silly. I think it comes down to the need compared comfort.
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