The Sure Sign of Spiritual Maturity
As Christians, we never get to the point where we never sin at all. However, God's will is for us to become spiritually mature, and He expects that from us. He leads us and disciplines us to be conformed to the image of Christ. Therefore, if we are not growing to maturity, we are greatly disappointing God and causing our Father to have to discipline us more. How can we tell if we are getting to be spiritually mature? James gave us one sure sign, when he spoke of a "perfect" or mature person. (James 3:2) Let's see what God told him to tell us.
The tongue is the hardest member of the human body to bring under control. No man or woman can do it by themselves, but with God's help, it is possible. Since it is so difficult, when we get to the point where we are able to bridle or control our tongue on a consistent basis, we see that we are gaining significant spiritual maturity. In fact, once we can bridle the tongue, we can bridle the whole body.
Many people look at this backwards. They think the body is the hardest to control. They think words are almost insignificant compared to what we do. However, words come from the heart. If our heart is not right, our words will not be right. When our heart is right, it shows spiritual maturity, and thus we have the power to control our bodies, too. I pray we will all let the Lord teach us this important lesson.
Tomorrow, I intend to read James 5 and I Peter 1-2.
The tongue is the hardest member of the human body to bring under control. No man or woman can do it by themselves, but with God's help, it is possible. Since it is so difficult, when we get to the point where we are able to bridle or control our tongue on a consistent basis, we see that we are gaining significant spiritual maturity. In fact, once we can bridle the tongue, we can bridle the whole body.
Many people look at this backwards. They think the body is the hardest to control. They think words are almost insignificant compared to what we do. However, words come from the heart. If our heart is not right, our words will not be right. When our heart is right, it shows spiritual maturity, and thus we have the power to control our bodies, too. I pray we will all let the Lord teach us this important lesson.
Tomorrow, I intend to read James 5 and I Peter 1-2.