Update from the President
Yesterday we concluded the February meetings of the Council of Elders here at the home office. We finished the meetings a full day early, as we moved along at a rapid clip. Highlights were the review of the entire strategic and operation plans as well as the budget for 2020-2021 to ready it for approval by the General Conference of Elders in May. We had done so much of the work at the home office on this before the meetings that there were relatively few additions before Council approval.
There were a number of procedural issues discussed. One notable agenda item was Jorge de Campos' presentation requesting a feasibility study by the Education Committee to develop UCG online courses, such as the Bible Correspondence Course, or another course such as the Bible Study Guides. These could be made available to our church membership and, for that matter, to anyone who would like to study more keenly into these subjects. There is already some material ready to post about the General Epistles.
Today Beverly and I are flying to Fargo, North Dakota, for the funeral of pastor Herb Teitgen which will be tomorrow, Friday. We will stay with deacon Gary Wendt and his wife, JoAnn. We plan to meet together with new pastor Ken Skorseth and his wife, Dianne, to discuss the future of the churches in North Dakota and Northwest Minnesota.
Words about Words
My message to you this week comes from the wise words of James, the brother of Jesus. They are insightful words that are like a flashlight shedding light on our personal hidden core. Are we brave enough to see what James exposes about us and what he advises us to do? This is a good exercise as we examine and assess ourselves before taking the Passover—now just a little more than a month away.
James writes this so succinctly that I'll have him speak to us directly, giving only the briefest of commentary. Are we ready? I will use the Living Bible as the translation (my emphasis added throughout).
James 3
"1Dear brothers, don't be too eager to tell others their faults, for we all make many mistakes; and when we teachers of religion, who should know better, do wrong, our punishment will be greater than it would be for others."
We are all to be teachers. While this is a message to all, it especially targets those who claim to be trainers of others.
"2If anyone can control his tongue, it proves that he has perfect control over himself in every other way. 3We can make a large horse turn around and go wherever we want by means of a small bit in his mouth. 4And a tiny rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot wants it to go, even though the winds are strong. 5So also the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A great forest can be set on fire by one tiny spark. 6And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness, and poisons every part of the body. And the tongue is set on fire by hell itself and can turn our whole lives into a blazing flame of destruction and disaster. 7Men have trained, or can train, every kind of animal or bird that lives and every kind of reptile and fish, 8but no human being can tame the tongue. It is always ready to pour out its deadly poison."
This chapter is about the careless use of the tongue, keyboard, phone, chat, text or whatever device which communicates our persona. Even our tiny utterances can have a big impact on those around us. They can be lethal. James' message is for everyone for the purpose of examining themselves. It is very simple to spot faults in others. But what we need to do is to see faults in ourselves in order to correct them.
"9Sometimes it praises our heavenly Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against men who are made like God. 10And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Dear brothers, surely this is not right! 11Does a spring of water bubble out first with fresh water and then with bitter water? 12Can you pick olives from a fig tree, or figs from a grape vine? No, and you can't draw fresh water from a salty pool."
These verses point out divided hypocritical thinking coming out in our speech. When we appear as a mixture of good on one hand and conceal evil on the other, we are evil. You can't be both.
Careless speech can be far more than bellicose indiscreet words. It can be words that are cunning, charming or manipulative. These are a "wolf in sheep's clothing," an idiom of biblical origin (Matthew 7:15) used to describe one playing a role contrary to their real character. Contact with such people is dangerous, particularly with false teachers who use this tactic to worm their way into unsuspecting minds. The first biblical example of this is the charming serpent who beguiled Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Our human nature is fraught with vanity, jealousy, lust and greed—which is a truthful description of our core that we are to identify and overcome.
The Bible can identify these areas, as Paul reveals in Hebrews 4:12-13: "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." You may not know the Bible, but the Bible knows you!
Continuing in James 3: "13If you are wise, live a life of steady goodness so that only good deeds will pour forth. And if you don't brag about them, then you will be truly wise! 14And by all means don't brag about being wise and good if you are bitter and jealous and selfish; that is the worst sort of lie. 15For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, inspired by the devil. 16For wherever there is jealousy or selfish ambition, there will be disorder and every other kind of evil."
Sobering words! Don't be two contrasting people! Now we understand the problem. Here's what we can do, with God's help!
"17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness. Then it is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others; it is full of mercy and good deeds. It is wholehearted and straightforward and sincere. 18And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness."
This Passover season, let's work harder than ever to plant seeds of peace so we can reap a harvest of goodness.
