Blog Series - Flames of Destruction

One morning at about 7am I was traveling to the church office on my normal route down 1A when suddenly a police car pulled out in front of me and went speeding down the road. By the time I arrived where he had stopped, I noticed an old home with smoke and flames billowing out of the front door and windows. I must say, I have never watched a house burn down before. It was quite a sight.

This experience reminded me of a passage of Scripture in James. Normally, fire in the Bible is a symbol of God's presence (Moses at the Burning Bush) or a symbol of the Holy Spirit (like at Pentecost). But in James 3:6 we see a reference to fire in another context.

"The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."

This is a strong rebuke that the Word of God has upon those that would use their words to harm another. When we use our words to tarnish the character of another, to speak about them in negative terms...whether behind their back or in person...we allow the course of our spiritual life to be consumed with a force of evil which is stoked by the flames of hell.

Over the next several weeks I will be posting a Blog Series entitled Flames of Destruction in which I will address issues of the tongue. Issues such as slander, gossip, quarrelling, conflict resolution...and others will be addressed. I will examine Scriptures such as MT 18:15-17, MT 5:23-24, Eph 4:29-32, 1 Peter 2:1, 1 Cor 3:1-3, James 3, and many others. I will post once a week on Wed or Thursday.

Every time I drive past that old, burnt house I cant help but think about the words of James. I cant help but imagine how destructive our words can be to others if we are not careful. And about how the flames of destruction can sweep through the house of God and consume the hearts and minds of many people and quench the Spirit of God.

This series is meant for all of us. There is not a single person who has not mis-used their words at some point in their life. The good news is that I can be forgiven. That is good news!

Stay tuned for more!