God After Righteousness, Not Goodness

You may not see Him doing it but as we do something… as we contemplate on doing something… as we open our mouths to say something… God is beside us looking at our hearts. “God is looking for a heart of worship, a heart of servitude,” says Our Daily Bread. “At the heart of worship should be worship from the heart.”

⁷ The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 SAMUEL 16 nlt

³ The Lord tests the heart. PROVERBS 17 

² …Motives are weighed by the Lord. PROVERBS 16

What matters to God is not what we do but why we do it. It’s not what we say but why we say it. It’s not the act He’s after, but our intention or motive for the act (Proverbs 21:2).

²⁷ The lamp of the Lord searches the spirit of man; it searches out his inmost being. PROVERBS 20

And what motive is pleasing to God?

¹⁴ Most of all, let love guide your life. COLOSSIANS 3 tlb

¹⁴ Do everything in love. 1 CORINTHIANS 16

Love distinguishes righteousness from goodness. What’s the difference between the two? Righteousness is a good thought, word or deed propelled by love. Goodness is a good thought, word or deed unpropelled by love.

Throughout the Scripture, God calls for righteousness. It is what makes a child of God, what sets him apart from the rest of humanity.

³⁴ Awake to righteousness. 1 CORINTHIANS 15 nkjv

¹² Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. HOSEA 10 nlt

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. MATTHEW 5

Lucifer is capable of doing goodness but not righteousness. When he does a good deed, his motive cannot be love. For there is neither love of God nor love of man in him. He lost it even before the creation of man. The motive behind his good deeds is selfishness. Our good deeds if not propelled by love may be no different to the good deeds of Lucifer.

¹⁰ In this the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil: Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither is he that loveth not his brother. 1 JOHN 3 kjv

It has been made known what fate awaits those who do good deeds but not for love.

²² Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!” MATTHEW 7

The papal bull Cantate Domino claims that only Roman Catholics would enter the kingdom of God. The Iglesia ni Kristo claims that only its church members would enter the kingdom. Scripture says God is after the righteous. Corporate affiliation will not carry anyone to the kingdom; only righteousness will.  

⁸ [The Lord] will judge the world in righteousness. PSALM 9

¹¹ God is a righteous judge. PSALM 7

The popular belief is that doing good deeds and refraining from doing evil deeds are enough to get us to the kingdom. Sad to say, that is a satanic teaching. To those who live by this understanding, the Lord would say:

⁴² I know you. I know that you do not have love of God in your hearts. JOHN 5

When we fall in love, we learn the things that please our loved one and do them. We court his or her pleasure and company. We do it with joy and gladness, even with long-suffering if needed. If this is how we profess love for a fellow mortal, how should we profess love for the Immortal One?

⁵ The Lord loves righteousness. PSALM 33

⁷ For the Lord is righteous. PSALM 11

Good deeds not motivated by love make God unhappy; it does not please Him. King Amaziah did what he thought was right in the Lord’s sight but God was not pleased. Why?

² He did what was right from Adonai’s perspective, but not wholeheartedly. 2 CHRONICLES 25 cjb

A person may be gifted by the Spirit with prophecy or with healing, but if its use is not motivated by love, then such use is not appreciated in heaven. It was this point that St. Paul wanted to emphasize when he wrote:

¹ If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 1 CORINTHIANS 13

We check the fuel of our car before driving. We check our wallet before leaving the house. We must also make a habit of checking our motive before we do or say anything.

²³ Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. PROVERBS 4 nlt

Listen to the advice of King David to his son:

⁹ And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve Him with wholehearted devotion, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. 1 CHRONICLES 28 

Love should be preeminent in our every deed. In the Gospel of the Hebrews, Y’shua said to His disciples, “"And never be joyful except when you look on your brother with love." (Wikipedia) 

¹³ Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy [love], not sacrifice. MATTHEW 9

The teacher of the Law in Mark 12:28 remarked:

³² Well said, teacher. You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but Him. ³³ To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices. ³⁴ When Y’shua saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” MARK 12

Be Forewarned. Also check the righteousness of every one who poses as a God-worshiper, especially as a man of God. Many Christians and churches have been duped because they did not check the posers for their righteousness.  

¹ Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. 1 JOHN 4

¹⁶ By [their] fruits you shall recognize [them]. MATTHEW 7

If love is not the focal point of the poser’s words and actions, if there is inconsistency between his words and actions, then he is a pretender. Beware, for he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

³⁰ He who is not with Me is against Me. MATTHEW 12

IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER, IT WAS SAID THAT LUCIFER REMOVED COMMANDMENT NO. 1 FROM THE TEN-C. WHY? HOW IMPORTANT IS IT IN RELATION TO THE NINE? 

Commandment No. 1 tells us to do everything in love. The other commandments tell us how.

⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments [love of God and love of neighbor]. MATTHEW 22

³¹ There is no other commandment greater than these. MARK 12

Commandment No. 1 is the sun around which all the other commandments revolve.

⁹ The commandments Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not covet, and whatever other commandment there may be are summed up in this one rule: Love your neighbor as yourself. ¹⁰ Love is the fulfillment of the Law. ROMANS 13 

Having said that, none of these motives is acceptable to God:

§  To observe the commandments for the sake of obeying. Such observance is mechanical and lifeless.

§  To observe in order to escape God’s Judgment and wrath. Such observance is motivated by fear. It is debased, a behavior fit only for animals.

§  To observe in order to be blessed with healing or prosperity or some other favor. Such observance is motivated by selfishness, which is most ungodly.

§  To observe so as to yield to peer or social pressure.

A Messianic group in Quezon City attends Sabbath services and does tithing because their lady employer requires them to. Stop tithing and stop from attending church if your motive in doing them is not love of God. Why? Because any act or sacrifice that is not meant for God is meant for somebody else. It does not please God. There is no spiritual gain whatsoever for you.

Tithing and attending church fellowships are called for religious acts. But religiosity with love of God missing in it is not righteousness at all but rather insipid and worthless do-nothing in God’s sight.

IF LOVE IS THE NATURE OF MAN, HOW COME OUR WORLD TODAY IS NOT LOVE-PERSONIFIED?

It is because the humankind as opted to set aside God. It has opted to pursue a path separate from Him and not grow into a fruitful tree. It has become the wasted seed in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23).  

²⁹ God made man upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes… ¹⁰ There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. ECCLESIASTES 7

We are born, taught and conditioned to a world system that promotes erroneous love. And what is erroneous love?

§  It is fond of saying I love you with the selfish I preceding love.

§  It equates love with physical attraction and companionship, or worse, with “sexual oneness” the like of fornication, adultery, incest and homosexuality.

§  It prostitutes love and marries for money.

§  It discriminates whom to love.

§  It makes a trophy of the people it “loves” that they end up being idolized, caged and unhappy.

§  It sees love as an investment (as when politicians marry celebrities to add to their popularity, or when parents prepare their children to take care of them in their old age).  

§  It speaks of love yet disregards God, which is ironical for “Love comes from God” (1 John 4:7). Where God is absent, love is absent.  

Does all this sound familiar to you? Of course, it does! We are its fruits.

³³ Make a tree good and its fruit will be good. Make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad. MATTHEW 12

Erroneous love makes us restless. It puts in us a gnawing emptiness that has to be satisfied, a void that has to be filled. Those who have reached the pinnacle of success in their careers, those surrounded with material comforts, those pedigreed in education, those of the so-called superior class, and those seated on positions of great power and authority—even they are restless, bored of what the world has to offer. They too are burdened and tire so easily in what they do.

No matter how hard we try to fill our emptiness with worldly appointments and trimmings, at the end of the day it begs to be resolved. Our hearts thirst for divine love, our minds thirst for divine love, our souls thirst for divine love, our strengths thirst for divine love…

¹⁷ The poor and the needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Isra’el, will not forsake them. ISAIAH 41

It is for the thirsty that God incarnated. 

³⁷ If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. JOHN 7

¹⁷ Whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. REVELATION 22

¹³ Whosoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. JOHN 4

²⁸ Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. MATTHEW 11

Do Not Blaspheme the Most Holy Name

What is blasphemy? It is speech that vilifies, ridicules or discredits God. He is bad-mouthed and mocked in a contemptuous way. His reputation is maligned and damaged; His Word, distorted.

John W. Ritenbaugh wrote: “Christians most especially are not to blaspheme the name of God. We are not to profane it. We are not to bring it down into the ground and trample upon it—by means of what we say, and the actions of our lives, and our attitudes. We represent Him, because we bear His name as His children! And so our responsibility is to uphold the quality of that name.”

Let us study five ways on how to blaspheme:

§  Impute evil on God’s work.

§  Curse God.

§  Be a hypocrite.

§  Patronize and or spread false teachings.

§  Patronize false prophets.

Blasphemy by Imputing Evil on God’s Work

¹⁴ Y’shua was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. LUKE 11

²² The teachers of the Law who came down from Jerusalem said, “The [Son of] Man is possessed by Beelzebub. By the prince of demons He is driving out demons.” ²³ So Y’shua called them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Lucifer cast out Lucifer? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶ And if (the enemy) opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come.” MARK 3

²⁷ If I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, [your people] will be your judges. ²⁸ But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of heaven has come upon you. MATTHEW 12

In the incident the teachers of the Law were guilty of making a false accusation against Y’shua, imputing evil on His work.

²⁸ I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven. ²⁹ But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin. MARK 3

³² Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. MATTHEW 12 

Blasphemy by Cursing God

Encarta defines curse as

1.   vi swear: to utter swearwords or obscenities

2.   vt swear at: to swear at somebody

3.   vt wish evil on: to appeal malevolently on a supernatural being for harm to come to somebody or something

4.   vt cause suffering to: to inflict something unpleasant on somebody

Cursing is an occult process of commanding elemental spirits to manipulate a person or persons and fulfill incantation for injury, punishment or destruction to come upon him or them. The efficacy of every curse depends on the reason behind it (the cosmic-right for it), as well as on the intensity of the mental or emotional focus that propelled it. When the curse reaches the “psychic layers,” the elemental spirits will fulfill the incantation. (Occult Grand Master Now In Christ, p. 37) 

¹⁰ Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. ¹¹ Can both fresh water and salt water come from the same spring? ¹² My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. JAMES 3

Cursing God is like kissing Lucifer in front of God and making an appeal for him to harm Him. It’s like thrusting the spear into His side again.

¹⁰ Now the son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. ¹¹ The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the name with a curse. So they brought him to Moses. ¹² They put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them. ¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁴ “Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him. ¹⁵ Say to the Israelites: If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible; ¹⁶ anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether foreigner or native-born, he who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death.” ²³ Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him. The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses. LEVITICUS 24

In obedience of Leviticus 24:16 the Jews stoned to death those who cursed God. It served as a graphic lesson to learn (even for the modern man) that the curser would stay dead and barred from entering the kingdom of God.

Blasphemy through Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy is defined as false claim to or pretense of having admirable principles, beliefs or feelings.

² Even though you claim to worship the Lord, you do not mean what you say. JEREMIAH 5 tev

⁶ I listened carefully, but you did not speak the truth. Not one of you has been sorry for your wickedness. Not one of you has asked, “What have I done wrong?” Each of you keeps going your own way, like a horse rushing into battle. JEREMIAH 8 tev

¹ Rid yourselves of all… deceit and hypocrisy. 1 PETER 2

¹ Y’shua said to the crowds and to His disciples, ² “The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. ⁵ Everything they do is done for men to see. ¹³ Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” MATTHEW 23

²¹ You, then, who teach others, do you teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? ²² You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³ You who brag about the Law, do you dishonor God by breaking the Law? ²⁴ As it is written, God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you. ROMANS 2 

Blasphemy by Patronizing or Spreading False Teachings

⁹ Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. HEBREWS 13

¹⁸ Do not allow yourselves to be condemned by anyone who claims to be superior because of special visions and who insists on false humility and the worship of angels. COLOSSIANS 2 tev

¹⁶ Watch your life and doctrine closely. ¹¹ The words of the Wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one Shepherd. Be warned, My son, of anything in addition to them. ECCLESIASTES 12 

¹ The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. ² Such teachings will come through hypocritical liars. 1 TIMOTHY 4

¹ [False teachers] will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. ² Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. ³ In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.  2 PETER 2 

⁸ These dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. JUDE

¹⁰ These men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand. ¹⁶ These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage… ¹² They are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. ¹³ They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever. JUDE

¹⁸ Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Y’shua the Messiah. 2 PETER 3

Blasphemy by Patronizing or Spreading False Prophecies

¹⁵ Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. MATTHEW 7

⁴⁵ The good man brings good things out of the good stored in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil things stored in his heart. LUKE 6

²³ If anyone says to you “Look, here is the Messiah!” or “There he is!” do not believe it. ²⁴ For false Messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. MATTHEW 24

¹⁴ They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs. REVELATION 16

¹⁶ [False prophets] are making you act foolishly, telling you visions from their own minds, and not from the mouth of Adonai. ¹⁷ They keep reassuring those who despise Me “Adonai says you will be safe and secure,” and saying to all living by their own stubbornness hearts “Nothing bad will happen to you.” ¹⁸ But which of them has been present at the Council of Adonai to see and hear His Word? Who has paid attention to His Word enough to hear it? JEREMIAH 23 cjb 

³² I am against those who prophesy false dreams, declares the Lord. They tell them and lead My people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least, declares the Lord. JEREMIAH 23

¹ Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges Y’shua the Messiah has come in the flesh is from God, ³ but every spirit that does not acknowledge Y’shua is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 1 JOHN 4

²¹ Test everything. Hold on to the good. ²² Avoid every kind of evil. 1 THESSALONIANS 5

In the Gospel of Mary, chapter 4 verses 34-36, Y’shua said to His disciples, “Beware that no one leads you astray, saying, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ for the Son of Man is within you. Follow after Him! Those who seek Him will find Him.” (Wikipedia)

¹⁰ They will bear their guilt—the false prophet will be as guilty as the one who consults him. EZEKIEL 14 

¹⁰ And the devil, who deceived them [will be] thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet [will also be] thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. REVELATION 20 

²¹ You may say to yourselves “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” ²² If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. DEUTERONOMY 18

¹¹ All things are done according to God’s plan and decision… based on what He had decided from the very beginning. EPHESIANS 1 tev

⁹ I am God, and there is none like Me. ¹⁰ I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. ¹¹ What I have said, that I will bring about; and what I have purposed, that I will do. ISAIAH 46 

²⁸ Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has My Word speak it faithfully.  JEREMIAH 23

¹⁹ If anyone does not listen to My words that the prophet speaks in My name, I Myself will call him to account. DEUTERONOMY 18

²⁰ Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. 1 THESSALONIANS 5

Speak Only What is Necessary & Righteous

¹⁶ Which of us has never sinned by speech? ECCLESIASTICUS 19

²⁵ If a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him; but if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him? 1 SAMUEL 2

Is there a remedy to an impure tongue? Yes, listen.

²⁹ It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. MATTHEW 5

Do not cut out your tongue though. Matthew 5:29 is a parable, not to be taken literally. The instruction is to keep your mouth shut and to break the silence only to speak what is necessary and what is righteous. The spoken word is a gift. Use it to please the Giver; gratitude dictates it.

² Let your words be few. ECCLESIASTES 5

²⁰ Let all the earth be silent before [the Lord]. HABAKKUK 2 nlt

It goes without saying that the TV, stereo, radio and everything else that disturbs the silence should be toned down or turned off. The silence will help you hear the Spirit. He speaks in a soft and gentle voice.

¹⁹ My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry… ²⁶ If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. JAMES 1

The devil will keep on creating situations to disquiet you and make you sin. But that’s where the challenge lies.

The Scripture gives examples of how to respond:

The example of Job. Lucifer sent a tornado that killed the prophet’s sons and daughters; lightning that burned his sheep and servants; and Chaldean marauders who carried off his camels. Lucifer also caused painful sores to afflict him from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

²² In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. JOB 1

¹⁰ In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. JOB 2

His wife said to him, “Curse God and die!” Job replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:10a) The prophet fell to the ground in worship and said, “May the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:20, 21).

The example of Michael. The archangel was tempted to slander Lucifer.

⁹ The archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” JUDE

¹¹ Even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against (the celestial) beings in the presence of the Lord. 2 PETER 2

The example of the Son of Man. Lucifer used the Jews to bring false accusations against the Son of Man. Taunted and mocked, hurled unto great suffering and misery, He neither reacted nor sinned. He kept His quiet and composure. He unlocked His mouth but only to pray for His persecutors.

The point is, we may find ourselves in a situation so wicked, so disturbing, so annoying, or so disgusting, but that does not give us an excuse to sin.

Y’shua said, “Always keep in mind: God and His Judgment are standing before you, listening to every word you say. How does a man speak who is under trial before Pilate? No corrupt language passes through his lips. He speaks with reverence and respect, taking care not to displease the Roman governor. And he speaks to the point so as not to arouse any doubt or suspicion against him. I tell you, speak only what is necessary and righteous.” (cf. Gospel of Barnabas)

¹² Speak and act as those who are going to be judged. JAMES 2

⁶ Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. ECCLESIASTES 5

¹⁴ See, the Judge is coming with thousands upon thousands of His holy ones ¹⁵ to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly… of all the harsh words [they] have spoken against Him. JUDE

³⁶ I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless [irresponsible] word that they have spoken. ³⁷ For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. MATTHEW 12

³ He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin. PROVERBS 13

The tongue is created to be an instrument of righteousness.  

¹³ You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom [in this instance, your freedom of expression] to indulge the sinful nature… GALATIANS 5

Tame it with an eye on the Judgment. This is better accomplished through divine help.

² The only man who could reach perfection would be someone who never said anything wrong—he would be able to control every part of himself. ³ Once we put a bit into the horse’s mouth, to make it do what we want, we have the whole animal under our control. ⁴ Or think of ships, no matter how big they are, even if a gale is driving them, the man at the helm can steer them anywhere he likes by controlling a tiny rudder. ⁵ So is the tongue only a tiny part of the body, but it can proudly claim that it does great things. Think how a small flame can set fire to a huge forest; ⁶ the tongue is a flame like that. Among all the parts of the body, the tongue is one wicked world in itself: it infects the whole body; catching fire itself from hell, it sets fire to the whole wheel of creation. ⁷ Wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish can all be tamed, and often are; ⁸ but nobody can tame the tongue—it is a pest that will not keep still, full of deadly poison. JAMES 3 jb