March 30th, 2006
The Tongue – Edition #3: Oil Based Speech
When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:
"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts to day; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!"
The response was immediate. Several legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In six short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa and Korea. Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, "The Rest Of the Story," and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called "One Nation under God."
If possible, please pass this prayer on to your friends. "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for everything." Think about this: If you forward this prayer to everyone on your e-mail list, in less than 30 days it would be heard by the world. How many people in your address book will not receive this prayer… do you have the guts to pass it on?
A friend sent that to me… I thought it would be good to share it.
Proverbs 5:1-4
My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge. For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.
Oil is pretty smooth. It’s like water, you can’t get a hold on it, but it sticks to you. Water is either absorbed or runs off, but oil, the base leaves a residue. The adulteress is something like the devil in this passage. He’s cunning and will make everything seem to make sense at the time. But in the end, he leads to death. It’s almost a warning of “be careful what you hear and be careful what you think you know.” The devil will exasperate and cause the heart to hurt like a skin sore. The devil irritates. And the adulteress is in no way different. The bible talks a lot about the prostitution of the heart, and in a sense, I think that Solomon is speaking not only of the adulteress, but of the real heart issue, turning away to other things. Go after this job because it can make you huge money… it will cause you to work on Sunday’s and many evenings, but at least it will give you bank. Wouldn’t you rather get season tickets to the Cowboy’s and miss eight Sunday’s a year at church? Hey, you get to look at the cheerleaders… it’s all good. And the boy’s just signed T.O.! These ideas may sound good to some, but it’s the adulteress speaking.
Proverbs 8:12-18
“I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have understanding and power. By me kings reign and rulers make laws that are just; by me princes govern, and all nobles who rule on earth. I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity.”
Arrogant (adj.):
- Having or displaying a sense of overbearing self-worth or self-importance.
- Marked by or arising from a feeling or assumption of one's superiority toward others.
And this is what really hits home for me… this definition of arrogance is something I displayed with the family. I felt I was simply better than them. That is not the attitude of Christ and that should not be my attitude. Knowledge puffs up, love builds up, as it is written. It is good to hate evil, but not people. Jesus hated evil, but at the same time, showed love to Judas. He even washed his feet and when he was betrayed, he let Judas kiss him. People always tend to talk about the feet washing, but I can’t recall anyone mentioning that Jesus let Judas kiss him. And it is something to think about… I mean, not only did Jesus know who was going to betray him, he knew when and how… and he was strong enough to even let his betrayer kiss him toward his death. Jesus could talk. He choose not to talk… I mean, the dude could talk circles around everyone, show them up one side and down another, making them look like the buffoons that they were, but he was wise and used discretion. Johnny Out.
Posts
