BIBLICAL MUSINGS
by Garry L. Barton
This week, ? let us ponder
the fste of an unbridled
tongue.
"If any man offend not in
word, the same is a perfect
man. and able also to bridle
the whole body." So says
James 3:2.
Indeed, idle words spoken,
be they truth or lies, have the
same negative effect: they
attack our already suspicious
and thereby vulnerable
minds, planting that seed of
doubt. Much like the faith_
of a mustard seed moving a
mountain, a little seed of
doubt, deposited by an un
bridled tongue, can topple or
destroy that same mountain.
James 3:5 says as much
"The tongue is a little mem
ber, and boasteth great
things. Behold, how great a
matter a little fire kindleth!"
Here, to better understand,
liken an unbridled tongue to a
tiny and unassuming kitchen
match that has the ability to
destroy whole forests at a
James continues: "And the
tongue is a fixe, a world of
iniquity: so is the tongue
among our members, that it
defileth the whole body, and
sctteth on fire the course of
nature: and it is set on Are of
hell." James 3:6.
Consider your body to be a
forest made up of a number of
trees (let the trees represent
the various members of your
body). Then consider the bet
that a kitchen match (your
tongue) is capable of des
troying the whole forest (your
body). Remember, the scrip
ture says: "...and setteth on
fire the course of nature.."
The natural course of nature
(or the world) is straight for
hell. One important thing we
need to remember: after a
forest here on earth is burnt
up. the fire goes out. In order
to have a fire here on earth
you need 3 sources-fuel,
oxygen and a source of heat.
When the forest is burnt up
you no longer have fuel;
therefore the fire extinguishes
itself. But in hell, the fire is
everlasting.
So, we see we need to keep
aj>ridle on, or a check on our
loose tongues. "Behold, we
put bits in the horses'
mouths thst they may obey
us; and we turn about their
whole body." James 3:i
Indeed we are warned
about this in Psalm, 12:9.
"Be ye not as the Ijorse. or as
the mule, which have no
understanding: whose mouth
must be held in with bit and
bridle..." It may seem inap
propriate to say so. btpt
nevertheless 1 have seen
many stubborn jackasses
(donkeys) whq need to be
turned out to pasture in God's
Word. They need to eat a '
"bait" of the Word. They
would not be as apt to argue
God's Word then.
As a matter of fact. Jesus
told the Pharisees (He was
talking to you and me also)
"But I say unto you. that
every idle word that men shall
speak, they shall give account
thereof in the day of judg
ment. For by thy words thou
shalt be justified, and by the
words thou shalt be con
demned." Matthew 12:36.37.
Yes, indeed! There are all
too many judges in our time.
Like a preacher once ex
pressed in mv presence: "I
think God. Gpd ain't like
man.'*
We need remember what
Jesus said in His parable
found in Matthew 13:31.32
"The kingdom of heaven is
like to a grain of mustard
seed, which a man took, and
sowed in his field: Which
indeed is the least of all
seeds: but when it is grown, it
is the greatest among herbs,
and becometh a tree, so that
the birds of the air come and
lodge in the branches there
of."
It is my contention that too
many of us would rather be a
proud and stately Oak Tree,
with our backs so straight and
stiff we can't see how to kneel
down to humble ourselves
before God. Again, we need
remember: All trees are vul
nerable to fire (except, of
course, for the Mustard Tree
in this instance).
It might also be interesting
to note why God led the
children of Israel in the wil
derness for 40 years. ."And
thou shalt remember all the
way which the Lord thy God
led thee these forty years in
the wilderness, to humble
thee, and to prove thee, to
know what was in thin* heart. ,
whether thou woo Ides t keep
his commandments, or no."
Deuteronomy 8:2. Simply pi|t.
there were too many Oak
Trees and not enough Mus
tard Trees.
It seems the world today
has the same problem as did
"Mary Magdalene, and Jo
anna. and Mary the mother of
Jesus, a(td other women that
were wi\h them, which told.."
the eleven disciples about
Jesus rising from the dead.
"And th^eir words seemed to
them as idle tales, and they
believed them not." Luke
24:10.11.
It's strange but true: you
tell someone a lie and they
will believe you quicker than
they would if you told them
the truth.
Another interesting fact
just came to me. Take the
word "TRUE." Take the "U"
(signifying you) out and re
place it with an "E" (sig
nifying Eternity) and you have
the word "TREE." The mes
sage here is that everyone has
access to the "Tree of Life."
But first they need to learn
how to submit themselves to
and humble themselves K?>
fore Cod.
In light (Jesus is the Light!
of all this. I can understand
why preachers eshort us that
if we must wag our tongues.
to let our conversations center
aroAnd Jesus.
Perhaps most people are
like me; many times I open
my mouth hoping to impress
people with my intelligence.
But. alas! More times than
not the onlv thing that gets
through to them is my bad
breath and I therefore achieve
the opposite affect.
Indeed, we will be reward
ed if we bridle our tongues.
' "in???mm^ -
"For he tlut will kwe life, and
sec good day*, let htm refrain
his tongue from evil, and his
lips that they speak no guile ''
I Peper 3:10. This is repented
in Psalm 34:12. 13.
There is an old adage that.
although It is not Bible, seems
appropriate:1 "It is better to
remain silent and be thought
a fool than to speak up and
remove all doubt." I say.
"Amen!" to that.
Continue to love and pray
for one another.
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Father's Day "pomp and..
For you trivia fans, which came first? Father's, or
Mothers Day? You guessed it ? Mother's Dpy. It's for
this precise reason we even celebrate Father's Day ?
that having put Mom first, poor oT Dad wouldn't feel left
out!
In the noble words of Senator Margaret Chase Smith,
"Let's honor both parents, or desist from honoring
either." Fifteen years later, in 1972, President Nixon
signed Congressional approval correcting the "most
grievous insult imaginable" ? oversight of our honor
able and worthy fathers.
So, be it resolved: Honor Dad with the "...
ceremony" he richly de- serves!
Proposed Teacher
Tenure Study
blasted by NCAE
A bill directing that a study
be conducted of the so-called
teacher tenure statute before
the October meeting of the
General Assembly is a "back
door attempt to destroy job
security for the state's public
school educators," the pre
sident of the North Carolina
Association of Educators said
today.
Mrs. Loretta M. Martin, a
Thomasville teacher serving
as NCAE president, said
Senate Bill 621 "is an unfair
attempt by the State School
Boards Association to do by
study commission what it
cannot do by legislation."
Mrs. Martin said the North
Carolina School Boards As
sociation has been promising
all this session of the General
Assembly that it would spon
sor legislation to replace the
present Fair Employment and
Dismissal Statute with a five
year renewable tenure sta
tute.
That proposal, said Mrs.
Martin, was recognized by
members of the General As
sembly for what it was
"a bold attempt to give school
boards a hunting license on all
educators every five years."
She said passage of such
legislation "would immedia
tely turn teachers and prin
cipals into timid individuals
afraid to speak out on any
thing for fear their names
would go on the list for the
time when their personal
hunting season approached."
Support for such legislation
was lacking, she said.
Mrs. Martin said the School
Boards Association has pre
vailed upon powerful mem
bers of the General Assembly
to introduce legislation calling
for a study of the Fair
Employment and Dismissal
Statute.
The study is to be con
ducted by the Legislative
Research Commission and the
Personnel Administration
fntnmtc?inn ??A reported
back to the General Assembly
by the October special ses
sion.
"It looks to us as if what is
planned is a quick endorse
ment of the peculiar philoso
phy that has been espoused
by some leaders of the School
Boards Association recently."
Mrs. Martin said.
She said the so-called te
nure statute came into being
because of "abuses in the
hiring and firing of teachers,
abuses so flagrant the Gen
eral Assembly itself demand
ed that something be done."
She said in some counties
teachers were required to
?contribute to a^ particular
political party In order to keep
their jobs, that principals
were often summarily dis
missed by school boards and
?even school committees, and
that in one particularly fla
grant case a school board
fired a female English teacher
solely because it was firing
her husband and expected
both to leave the county.
"With what is happening in
our society right now with the
Moral Majority and the New
Right. can you just imagine
what a state of chaos will exist
in our schools if we take away
the minor job security tea
chers and principals now
have?" she asked.
She said NCAE believes the
present Fair Employment and
Dismissal Statute, which list
12 reasSns school boards may
use to dismiss a teacher or
principal, has worked well
over a fairly long period of
time since it was adopted in
1971.
She said NCAE will fight
the attempt to send the
statute to a study commission.
"The statute doesn't need
studying. What needs study
ing is why some people are so
hell bent on destroying any
job security for the state's
public school educators." she
jidded
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