adapted from "heart" by seyed mostafa zamani
God loved the world so much that he gave... And he continues to give today.
I was thinking about God's gifts today, and about how he gives. "Not as the world giveth..." When God speaks his word, it is "forever settled in heaven".
~Psalms 119:89
Compare this to the way many of us give our word. It used to be that a man's Word was his bond. You could count on it. It meant something. Now, instead of a promise and a handshake, we have multipage written agreements with clauses and seemingly every possible exclusion detailed. Still, we have to have contract laws and lawyers who specialize in contract law because far too often agreements are made with every intention of finding a "loop hole" to get out of it if we decide we made a mistake later.
How many couples pledge to love each other "till death do us part..." only to end up in divorce court later -- sometimes only months, weeks or even days after their wedding.
People take out loans to purchase things they can't afford and don't need, and then default on the payments. There are even "vacation dogs". Dogs that are adopted for the kids during summer vacation, and then abandoned at the end of the summer instead of being taken home as a member of the family.
The book of Proverbs tells us that "Life and death are in the power of the tongue".
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue:
and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."
~Proverbs 18:21
And James tells us that if we can control the tongue, we can bridle the whole body. If we "offend not in word". How do we offend in word?
"For in many things we offend all.
If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man,
and able also to bridle the whole body."
~James 1:2
I believe this refers to saying things that aren't true. Even those simple little colloquialisms that "don't really mean anything" like, "that tickles me to death" or "that just burns me up" or "I'd give my right arm for ________" (insert your desire in the blank space).
How much value do you place on your word? How much value do others place on your word? How much value do you place on God's Word?
I suggest that these are all inter-connected. We tend to judge God by our own standards. If we can't believe what we say, how can we believe what he has said?
Words have power and authority in them. We take them far too lightly.
Words created the universe, the earth, and everything in it. Words uphold everything today. When God created man, he created him in his own image and he gave him authority (dominion) over all of the earth.
That is an important distinction that so many Christians seem to overlook. We frequently hear that God is in control. Well, forgive my seeming insubordination, but if he is in control, he is doing a poor job of controlling things. There are starving children, raging diseases, wars and rumors of wars, murders, rape, the list goes on and on. Do you really think God is in control? Would he allow all of this to continue if he was?
The truth is, God gave MAN dominion.
"And God said, Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle,
and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."
~Genesis 1:26
God uses us to do his work here. Our authority releases God's ability, and we release our authority with words.
"Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular."
~1 Corinthians 12:27
Casting Crowns said it well in their song:
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way
We are his arms.
We are his hands.
We are his words.
We are his feet.
We are his love.
Now go, and be that.
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