Nuthatch
John Miller
01/27/20
- Windstream Mail
R E F L E C T I O N S Thoughts on nature and the Christian faith - 1/27/20 _____________________________________________________________________ "Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue." - Ps. 120:2 |
|
|
 |
I was trying out a telephoto lens I had received as a Christmas present (thanks again Dick and Bonnie!) when this little nuthatch flew down and landed on a nearby broken limb. As he poked around looking for food, I caught him with his tongue extended. Perhaps he had tasted something he didn't like, but whatever the reason, this pose amused me. It was like he was saying, "Yuck! I can't believe I put my tongue on that disgusting thing!” I can relate. Unless we are careful, our tongues can bring some pretty obnoxious things into our bodies. But what is worse are the times our tongues bring out of our bodies even more obnoxious things. What is inside determines what comes outside. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Have you ever spoke words only to immediately realize how hurtful and un-Christlike those words were? Have you ever lied just to make yourself appear better or to make another appear worse? Have you ever wondered how you could call yourself a Christian and still say what you have just said? Every Christian, if we are honest, will admit that we all struggle in controlling our tongues, in admitting that the dark places we try to hide within us are still there. Humbling, isn't it? Or at least it should be. If a man like David saw the need to cry out to God for help in controlling his tongue because he had found that he, in his own power, could not control it himself, why are we so reluctant to do so? The Christian life is not a life free from sin, but an ongoing battle against it. And our tongues are a good measure of how we are doing. When distasteful things come out of our mouths let us admit it. Then confess it. Then cry out to God for help. Let us stop pretending we are fixed when God, and everyone else, knows we are not. Your tongue will gauge your progress. - John
