I’ve got to look at something else
Cause when I look at their mouths, I’m discouraged.
By the words
That fall out of them
Influenced by opinions that are distorted,
Contorted by fabricated imaginations—
False assumptions and off calculations
Of who they perceive me to be.
They speak like they know,
Like they are certain.
A dangerous assertion,
Being that even the most prophetic people only know in part.
Why do we take the piece that they have and mishandle?
Beat each other with the bit of information that God has entrusted us with?
And fill in the blanks with perversion instead of prayer.
Like soothsayers, we use our gifts
To “read” the people of God,
To “discern” without Christ,
To “hear” without humility.
So, I’ve got to take my eyes off of them.
I’ve got to listen to something else
Cause when I hear their words, I’m disturbed,
Perturbed by their sounds of hissing, growling, and howling.
I hear the clamor of vain religion.
You know, the kind James mentioned:
“If any man among you seems to be religious and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.”
James 1:26.
Their hearts are deceived.
They’ve caused themselves to believe that they’re doing a good service.
I don’t want a prophecy mingled with gossip.
I don’t want a word mixed with your own trauma.
I’ve got to listen to something else.
I saw the eyes of their understanding grow dark.
I hear the hardness of their hearts,
With absolutely no intention to repent.
Instead,
They feed the flesh and scratch the ears of those who they favor.
They savor their meals at the tables you aren’t allowed to sit at.
The sin of partiality doesn’t cross their minds—
You know, that sin mentioned in James 2:9.
I hear the sound of heresy and little faith.
If I don’t stay away,
Their sayings will latch onto my ears and repeat in my mind all day.
When I lay at night, I’ll hear their doubts, their frustrations, and fears.
I’ve got to safeguard my ears and listen to something else.
I’ve got to eat something else.
This fruit is rotten,
Spoiled,
It is no good.
It reeks of impatience, malice, and hatred.
This fruit tastes bitter.
I’ve watched entire flocks wither away
Because they are malnourished.
The fruit is bad.
Does the word preached on Sunday temporarily fill bellies before it dissipates?
The root of bitterness springs up and troubles it,
Coupled with the spirit of offense.
I cannot eat that!
I am repulsed by the words we speak—
Not stern, not strict, just flat-out mean.
Full of backbiting, slander, and mess.
This fruit is bad.
When I say fruit, you’re thinking accolades,
But I’m talking love,
Kindness,
Self-control,
The sharp iron that helps me grow,
Peace,
Goodness,
That is supposed to grow on the vines of our lives—
The fruit that is good both day (in public)
And night (within your household), amongst your closest friends and family members.
Not the spray-painted fruit and perfume you put on in front of those you want favor from.
My stomach aches,
It turns,
So I turn my plate.
I’ve got to eat something else.
I’ve got to put my hands to something else.
Because we crack the whip like taskmasters,
Imposing harsh burdens we they do not ourselves carry out.
We’ve taken advantage of a heart to serve and made a slave.
I’ve got to put my hands to something else.
We call God’s people to a certain work when
God has called them to something else.
We’ve hurled word curses at those who decide they no longer want to work for their wages but would rather please God with the work of their hands.
I’ve got to put my hands to something else.
Jesus, help us all to look, sound, taste, smell and be more like you.
“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”
James 1:21-25
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Psalm 34:8
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