We have reached the last passage from the first chapter of James and it spoke volumes to me.
“If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world,” (James 1:26-27).
This passage should be read in the context of the previous verses. In the preceding passage we have learnt that we should not merely read the Word of God, but do what it says. This passage says that just speaking about God and His Word and not making a difference, or getting one’s listeners to make a difference, is worthless. Father God always wants to see change, which is why James summarised the basics of change in this sentence: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”.
Looking after orphans and widows represents any form of change Christians need to initiate in the physical circumstances of people. This includes feeding, housing, clothing, and so on of people. Whether we give financially to others to do the job, or do the job ourselves doesn’t matter, as long as we obey the Lord sacrificially.
Keeping ourselves from being polluted by the world represents holiness. No Christian can be wholly effective if we stand with one foot in the comforts of the world and the other in God’s Kingdom. Imagine that the soldiers in a warzone lived each in their luxurious home with a wife and children, driving every day to the battlefield in their luxury car to go and fight. Would they be effective? No they need to stand together, focused on the task at hand. They need to plan together, encourage one another, laugh together, cry together and celebrate together.
Pollution by the world involves interests that steal our time, ideas that confuse our theology, entertainment, money and anything that keeps us from being set apart for the Lord and what He has in mind for us.
What James basically said in this passage is that we should not merely talk about what we should do, but do it. We get a lot of this in the church, don’t we? We hear forever what we should do and we wait forever on the Lord to bring revival, but in the meantime the Bible is loaded with instructions and commands for us to go and do. Keeping a tight rein on our tongue means that we should not say things that we are not prepared to back up with action, otherwise we deceive ourselves and only sound as if we are religious instead of being a person of God.
I have mentioned this before, but this is an appropriate place to mention it again. Ideally the church should function as follows. During a Sunday celebration teaching and encouragement should be given as to how to reach out to the world. This should compliment other teaching given during the week that equips the people of God for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-16: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%204:11-16&version=NIV1984). Then people should be encouraged and organised during the following week to reach out. The home groups can arrange evenings to reach out to the world, the youth can reach out to the streets and clubs, individuals can reach out to their colleagues and people they meet along the way in the shops, hairdressers, sports clubs, and so on.
The following Sunday the church service can be opened with opportunity for testimonies of what God has done during the past week, which will give us reason to worship with enthusiasm.
If Christians live like this, where would we find time to be polluted by the world, television and other entertainment and the power of money and materialism? Would we not be completely focused on God’s will and plans and enjoy an exciting and fruitful life in Christ? Would this not be “religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless”?
Lord, I am prepared to change and influence those in my sphere of influence to do the same.
Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.
Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.
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