“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.” (NIV James 3:1-2)
As a young ministerial trainee in 1985 and then later on as a young pastor more than 25 years ago, our leaders used to remind us of this verse. Since pastors are in preaching and teaching positions, we were always reminded that we will be judged more strictly. We therefore had to make sure that we were preaching and teaching faithfully according to God’s Word in the Bible. We were constantly reminded to be careful with whatever we preach and teach. Words can either edify or destroy the hearers.
Preaching & Teaching Responsibility
This is always a good reminder to all pastors and teachers and to all of us. With the advent of social media like Facebook for example, a lot of people can now express their views openly and we can be careless with what we share. The apostle James’ words should remind us constantly to be careful with whatever thoughts or views we share to others online.
When you want to share something, first ask: Is it according to God’s Word? Does it edify and build up others? Or does it destroy others and it only exalts your own ego? Those who presume to be teachers, those who would-be-pastors, and those who think they know better than others, should think twice before they say anything because those “who teach will be judged more strictly.”
Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. 4 Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should. 5 Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. (Colossians 4:3-6)
Some say that religion and politics are twin issues that one should not get into if you want to have a more peaceful life. Engaging in discussions about politics and/or religion will only lead to heated arguments and ruined relationships according to some. Well, I guess most of the time that’s true. But it doesn’t have to be that way I would suppose. I believe any topic whether politics or religion can be discussed in a friendly and gentlemanly manner. There is really no need to be rude to one another.
Oftentimes these days, we read on social media of people’s comments about religion or politics with fiery passion and conviction. Some are quick and very bold to voice out their opinions for or against an issue regardless of who gets hurt and even condemn those who oppose their strongly held convictions. Some are quick to comment without thinking haha! Instead of discussing purely an issue, these conversations usually lead to heated arguments, name calling and insults. And some are openly expressing their views filled with hate, anger and curses. It happens all the time at Facebook. But the good Book does remind us to “let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Col. 4:6). It’s a good reminder when we join conversations whether it be face-to-face or on the internet.
Politics
As for me, having grown up as a son of a former politician, I know first hand how hard life can be if one is heavily involved in politics. It can be tough for the family too. There is no such thing as a “private life” for the family of a politician. I have therefore tried not to talk about or get involved in politics as much as possible. “I’ve been there”—so to speak. But it doesn’t mean I won’t ever talk about politics if the need arises. It doesn’t mean as well that I’m not concerned about what’s going on in the country today.
Religion
As to religion, well, I am a pastor since 1985 and I can talk about religion for hours if you want me to haha! I do get involved in theological discussions once in a while in the hope of helping people see the light—the True Light that shines in the darkness. Religion has such a bad name nowadays that when you mention the word, people think of it as “the opiate of the people.” Or maybe some would think that it’s just big business run by manipulative religious nuts bent on getting your money out of your pocket and into their own pockets.
True Religion
But the good Book does mention that there is such a thing as true religion as well which is different from the bad kind. According to James, true religion that is pure and undefiled is to visit the poor, the widows and the fatherless. It means loving your neighbor and helping them in their need. Instead of rumor-mongering and spreading gossip and lies, this person has integrity and can truly be considered “honorable.” A real God-fearing politician or religious person does truly love and is truly concerned about the welfare of his people. Just my thoughts.
“If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:26-27)
It was my 59th birthday yesterday and unlike in my previous birthdays, I received hundreds of greetings at Facebook. Before Facebook, I have always kept my birthday quietly with no big celebrations and the day normally passes by with only a few noticing that its my day. This time, I guess I was successful in intentionally keeping it “secret” on Facebook haha! It was just another day yesterday for me sending my kid to school, paid my water bill and went to the auto repair shop to have my car’s defective stabilizer link replaced. Just another ordinary day for me.
This time, I was able to keep it somewhat “secret” except for a few who still remembered me and greeted me privately yesterday. There was even an early bird who sent me a text message which woke me up! My morning wake up call all the way from Mindanao haha!
Simple Birthday Celebration
Of course my family did not forget the day. My wife made a cake and today my daughter and her classmates who are doing their class assignment at home, sang a birthday song for me before they enjoyed the cake (with one little candle haha!) and their lunch. Well, that was a little belated celebration at home. I thank the Lord for another year. If the Lord would bless me with longer life, it would be exciting to become finally a senior citizen next year!
My wife and I have been married for some 40 years now. I’m happy she still loves me and I feel the same way. We’ve been through a lot together and life for us and my family has not always been easy. There are challenges here and there from time to time. But I’m glad she’s with me all the way since we were still teenagers up to now. I would say that we have a good loving relationship despite our faults and weaknesses.
Broken Marriages
A relationship between a husband and wife can sometimes go from bad to worse and then end up in a broken marriage. It’s heartbreaking when this happens. After living together for some time, one or both of them are frustrated because their mate is not really the person of their dreams in their fantasy world. What they really wanted to get married with was a mate which was a creation of their own imagination—the perfect prince charming or the perfect princess of one’s own dream in fairy land.
Know and Love Your Mate
We could never really come to know the other person and build a lasting relationship if we continue to recreate our mates according to the image that we have invented in our own minds about him or her. If we only relate to our mates according to the figment of our own imagination, most likely we will often get frustrated and soon it will end up in a broken relationship.
It’s sad when marriages break up because the couple have not really come to know each other and have learned to grow in love with one another. A couple needs to learn to forgive one another and understand each other’s faults and weaknesses. Accepting one another in love is a key to a lasting marriage relationship.
Getting rid of this mental baggage about our mates is the ideal if the marriage relationship is to blossom to maturity. Let’s all get to know our mates and love them for who they really are — warts and all. Let’s not transform them or “reform” them according to our “specifications” based from our fantasy land. We will be happier that way.
Knowing Jesus
The same thing is true with our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. We can never really come to know the real Jesus if our Jesus is merely our own ideas that we have created about him and not really Jesus Christ that is revealed in Scripture. Some serious repenting* of the way we think is a must. We have to change our minds, get rid of our mental baggage, and get to know the real Jesus, who he is and what he has done for all of humanity and all of creation as revealed in the Bible.
Ask God to open your minds so that you will know who our loving Triune God really is as revealed in Jesus Christ. God created us to have an everlasting relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We can begin to enjoy everlasting life and love now and forever more with the Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn’t have to end in a broken relationship.
*The word repent in the Bible comes from the Greek word, metanoia which means change of mind.
According to the weather report, there’s a typhoon out there and the weather is bad. It’s raining outside and the day is gloomy. But look who’s out in the rain! That’s my daughter enjoying her vacation taking snapshots of whatever she finds interesting to shoot out in the rain. Oh dear haha!
For the Love of Photography
I guess she got it from me. I began to get interested in photography while I was in college taking up Architecture. Ever since she was a young kid, she has seen me taking photos of almost anything that interested me. I guess it’s in the family haha! She’s a graduate of Art Studies at the University of the Philippines – Diliman Campus. She loves painting, water color, freehand drawing and of course photography as an art expression. Check out her blog site.
