James 3:1-12 (click on the scripture to read it)
Who has authority over us in our everyday lives?
One aspect of authority would be the structure of society. We the people, or at least we the majority of the people, build a set of authoritative structures that we live within. These structures, that we are very blessed to have a voice in designing, are intended to keep us from harming ourselves and others…structures that should be laid out for the common good of our society. The result of this communal authoritative process, or rather democratic process, gives us our laws.
It is these laws that keep me at or below 15 miles per hour as I drive through the school zone every morning while dropping my son off for school. It is the authoritative designation of that speed limit that helps protect our children as they come to and from their place of learning.
This type of authority is what it is, and we either choose to follow it or not. When we choose not to follow it, the authority has in place consequences for when we choose to break the laws and go outside the bounds of that authority.
What else or who else has authority in our lives?
A better way of saying that is who do we listen to? Who is it that influences how we think and how we act on a daily basis? Who is it that teaches us or tells us what we should believe to be the truth?
Does the truth we believe in come from a 24 hour news source?
Does the truth we believe in come from a particular talk show host?
Does the truth we believe in come from the internet?
Have we, in today’s society, given ourselves over to the authority of people we see on TV or given ourselves over to the authority of what we read on a computer? Where do we get our knowledge…where to we get our understanding of the truth?
Last week I was on an internet social networking site and I read a very convincing obituary for Morgan Freeman. It was tastefully done and someone had spent a fair amount of time choosing the right words to use and finding the perfect picture to include with it.
I responded to the posting in a way that was clear that I believed what it said, and I responded in a way that invited other people I know to read it too.
It only took about 15 seconds before someone corrected me that he had not really died and that someone had lied. I then did some research for myself to see what the truth was. I was relieved to find out that Morgan Freeman really was alive, and this made me happy because I really like him as an actor. But I was upset that I believed it when I read it without checking the facts for myself. The thing that made me the most upset was that I not only believed it, but I helped it spread like wildfire across the internet when I made it available for others to read.
Being a person in the forgiveness and reconciliation business, my hope would be that the person who designed this obituary would have realized their mistake and tried to erase it…but it was too late. Once they hit send on their keyboard there was no taking it back.
Has society really become, not only quick to judge, but so quick to believe without hesitation…without thinking? The fact is, it is destructive to ourselves and to others when we blindly accept the authority of things we hear on TV or read on the internet. Not only is it destructive and dangerous, but when we believe without thinking we become disciples without even realizing it. We become disciples of those people… and not only those people, but those sources. Before we know it, those sources are guiding our every thought. Without even realizing it, the sources we find ourselves paying attention to the most begin developing our creeds. With or without it being intentional, we find ourselves committed to these authoritative sources in such a way that they become the driving force in how we choose our words and how we choose our actions.
In the New Testament today, the Letter of James is giving us a clear warning.
James begins by letting us know that not everyone is called to be a teacher…not everyone should see their role in life to be that of spreading their knowledge. In the New Testament, being a teacher is a Spiritual Gift. Though we all possess Spiritual Gifts, we as individuals don’t possess all of the Gifts the Holy Spirit has to offer.
James is not only warning us about who to listen to, but he is giving us a warning about what we do with that information. James did not know about television or the internet, but he knew about communicating by word of mouth. He knew the importance of words, the power they possess, and how influential they can be.
When we become disciples of things that are not the Truth, we become destructive. We cause damage if we mean to or not. When we become disciples to sources that are not Truth, our words, our false words, become authority to someone else…the student becomes the teacher.
As a disciple of Jesus with a message to share, James used images and examples that the original listeners would have connected with quickly.
As someone who used to raise horses, I easily connected with what James had to teach. James writes, “If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies.” This is so true. The bridle/bit is used to control the horses head and wherever the rider pulls the head the horse will go that way; when you control the head, you control the whole body. James is warning us about who we let hold our reins, because once the bridal is on, we will go where they want us too…even places we don’t set out to go.
The rudder on the ship is the same warning. James says that the rudder of a ship is small compared to the ship but if it is controlled by a false authority, then we will be steered in the wrong direction if we want to go there or not.
Who in authority is holding our reins? Who in authority is guiding our rudder? Whose words are coming out of our mouths and what was the source? Are they your words and if so, do you think about them and the consequences of using them before you unleash your tongue? Words are to easy to let go of, but often impossible to get back.
Who is it that we listen to? Who is it that influences how we think and how we act on a daily basis? Who is our authority?
Is Jesus your authority? Is Jesus our authority? If Jesus is our authority, then as individuals and as a community, we have something pure to guide our minds. If Jesus is our authority, we have something good to guide our hearts. If Jesus is our authority, then we have something true to guide our words and our actions.
When our thoughts, words, and actions don’t fit into the essence of the Gospel, we have to ask ourselves where they came from. Where did we hear them and why do we feel the need to share them? When we figure out where those teachings that don’t fit the Gospel come from, do we want to be disciples to those sources?
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