James has so much so say about what we say, how we say it and if we say something. I am going to list just a few verses with the communication words in all capitals.
"For he who SAID, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So SPEAK and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment." - James 2:11-13 ESV
"But someone will SAY, 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." - James 2:18 ESV
"Not many of you should become TEACHERS, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness." - James 3:1 ESV (Teachers speak and instruct)
"So also the TONGUE is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the TONGUE is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The TONGUE is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell." - James 3:5-6 ESV
"From the same MOUTH come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so." - James 3:10 ESV
"This is not the WISDOM that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the WISDOM from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere." - James 3:15-17 ESV
"What causes QUARRELS and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and QUARREL. You do not have, because you do not ASK. You ASK and do not receive, because you ASK wrongly, to spend it on your passions." - James 4:1-3 ESV
"Do not SPEAK evil against one another, brothers. The one who SPEAKS against a brother or judges his brother, SPEAKS evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? Come now, you who SAY, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit' - yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to SAY, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.' As it is, you BOAST in your arrogance. All such BOASTING is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." - James 4:11-17 ESV
"Come now, you rich, weep and HOWL for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten." - James 5:1-2 ESV
"Do not GRUMBLE against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who SPOKE in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. But above all, my brothers, do not SWEAR, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your 'YES' BE YES and your 'NO' BE NO, so that you may not fall under condemnation. Is anyone among you suffering? Let him PRAY. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing PRAISE. Is anyone among you sick? Let him CALL for the elders of the church, and let them PRAY over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the PRAYER of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, CONFESS your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The PRAYER of a righteous person has great power as it is working." - James 5:9-16 ESV
"Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he PRAYED fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he PRAYED again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit." - James 5:17-18 ESV
"My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone BRINGS HIM BACK, let him know that whoever BRINGS BACK a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." - James 5:19-20 ESV
Wow.
There is so much here isn't there?
It makes me want to be a person who communicates mercy because I am meditating on grace. God apparently wants a focused communication life... prayer directed at Him... praise for circumstances directed at Him... true communication between people... not keeping things hidden inside but expression focused by and through faith.
Will complaining bring back a wandering sinner (someone who has missed the mark in life)? Will negativity?
What will make it rain? The prayer of faith will.
What will seal a deal. A true 'Yes' or 'No' will.
I need to hear myself speak wisdom from above not below. People need grace words from merciful people and in order to be a merciful person I need to hear merciful word that are from God and to speak those words to myself.
We have been given grace but mankind quarrels and devours one another because no word of grace is heard and processed by the soul. The war in our soul can cease the moment we hear the gracious announcement of the finished work in application for our lives... that same word gives us a soft answer that can turn away wrath in others.
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