James 3:3-12

And turn back to the book of James. We're going to be continuing right where we left off last week.

In chapter 3, starting in verse 3.

As advertised by Nathan last week, I'll be continuing right where we left off, continuing this discussion that James is giving on controlling our tongues.

As many of you know, my firstborn just came into the world four weeks ago as of today.

So as you can imagine, I'm pretty tired.

So if I start to slur or whatever, I'm sorry.

But also because of that, last week I came here and I volunteered for band, which I probably shouldn't have.

Because I was pretty tired by the time the service came around.

So I was pretty much asleep during the whole sermon.

Not because it was boring. I was just that exhausted.

The only part I remember was Nathan saying, hint, hint, Zach.

So I remember it because it woke me up.

But I want to tell you now, I have no idea what that hint was.

But all joking aside, I did check with him.

And to be honest, it really wasn't much of a hint.

So I mean, I guess I could have just kept saying, I don't know.

But anyways, we'll be picking up in James chapter three, starting verse three through 12.

That's our text for this morning.

But I'm going to start by reading in verse one for continuity sake.

So James writes,

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers.

For you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

For we all stumble in many ways.

If anyone does not stumble in what he says,

he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us,

we guide their whole bodies as well.

Look at the ships also.

Though they are so large and are driven by strong winds,

they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

How great a fire is set ablaze by such a small fire.

And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.

The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body,

setting on fire the entire course of life and set on fire by hell.

For every kind of beast and bird of reptile and sea creature can be tamed

and has been tamed by mankind.

But no human being can tame the tongue.

It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With it we bless our Lord and Father,

and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.

Brothers, these things ought not be so.

Does the spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?

Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs?

Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

So our outline today is not so much a series of points.

Today we're going to be looking at this text more so observationally.

So I have three observations.

I'm not entirely sure what the difference is there,

but this is two hours sleep brain thinking.

But three observations.

And the first one being the influence and power of the tongue.

The second one being the duality of the Christ proclaimer who does not control his tongue.

And third, the lack of a solution to controlling the tongue within ourselves.

So I'm going to repeat those later on as we work through this.

But just considering that first observation,

the influence and power of the tongue.

The influence and the power of the tongue.

So we're going to see this in verses 2 through 8.

So James gives us a few images to depict the influence and power of the tongue.

And the first is of a horse.

He says, if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us,

we guide their whole bodies.

In verse 3.

I don't know how many of you are familiar with horses.

I'm by no means an expert, but I've ridden two or three times in my life.

The bit is what you put in their mouth.

You control it with the reins.

You yank it to the right, they go right.

You yank it to the left, they go left.

Right?

You've probably seen it in a movie or something like that.

And so it's painful.

It's a process because the horse wants to direct itself.

It wants to do what it wants to do.

And an untamed horse will fight against your will ferociously.

He'll jump around and he'll try to buck you off.

He does not want to be controlled.

So this is an image the people of the first century world would know well.

And the second image is an image of a ship.

He writes in verse 4,

Look at the ships also.

Though they are so large and are driven by strong winds,

they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.

Again, this image is very similar to our first image.

We have a ship, a large ship.

A ship that requires strong winds to be moved.

But what's amazing about this ship that's so large and needs such strong winds to be moved

is that neither of those things determine the direction of the ship.

The direction of the ship is determined by the smallest part of it, the rudder.

It's on the back end of a ship.

You turn it, sometimes with wheels, sometimes with a stick.

It tells you where you go.

So the tongue, of course, is meant to be read into this.

It's the bit.

It's the rudder.

That's what these images are depicting,

which is why he says in the first half of verse 5,

So also the tongue is a small member,

just like the rudder, just like the bit.

A small member, yet it boasts of great things.

So the tongue is one of the smallest members of our body,

yet it influences more of our life in its direction than any other part of the body.

That's not to say it's the controlling member, which we'll see momentarily,

but the tongue's influence is vast.

And picking back up in the second half of verse 5,

James writes,

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire.

An entire forest consumed by this fire, consumed by this tongue.

So the image here is of a kindling small fire,

a fire growing to consume a great or large forest.

So James is shifting from talking about the influence of the tongue,

and now he's talking about its power,

what it can accomplish or destroy in this case.

In the first two images,

the potential influence by the tongue is considerable,

given a small bit and a small rudder.

But now the power and its destructive capabilities.

It consumes this forest.

This forest is not going to bear fruit.

This forest is not going to provide shade.

This forest is not going to allow for materials like wood to be harvested.

There's no profit left in this forest

because it is utterly destroyed by the uncontrolled tongue.

Now, you might think this is an overreaction to the tongue on James' part.

At worst, it's just words, as some may say.

And James gets away from the similes that we've been reading in verses 3 through 5,

and in verse 6 states in plain and matter-of-fact language,

he says in verse 6,

And the tongue is a world of unrighteousness.

The tongue is set among our members.

It is staining the whole body.

It is setting on fire the entire course of life,

and it is set on fire by hell.

All right, so we're getting into the meat of it,

and there are three things here to consider.

So the tongue is a world of unrighteousness,

which is why it stains the whole body.

So recall from week 1,

I preached on James 1, verse 1 through 4,

James 1:1–4

and I talked at length about the importance of these words,

whole and perfect,

especially throughout the book of James.

And here, one of those words comes up again,

whole.

This means in entirety.

Not one aspect is left out.

And earlier in the book of James,

he tells us that we are given trial

so that we may become whole,

lacking in nothing.

But in our text today,

he is saying that by our tongues alone,

our wholeness or our entirety is stained and unrighteous.

So there's a tension in reading this.

There's some difficulty.

How does this all work out?

How does it equal zero, right?

How does this sum up?

And again, we'll come back to this tension in a moment.

But the second thing is that the tongue sets on fire

the entire course of life.

Here we see what the tongue destroys.

It destroys our very lives.

How many times have you spoken,

and it led to strife, anger, fights, quarrels, you name it.

And I can recall times in my life where I or others

have said things intentionally to hurt somebody.

So those are the easy ones to think of.

Like, oh yeah, I can see where that's possible.

But I am even more amazed at the number of times

I said something or somebody I know

has said something,

totally good intentions,

no ill will,

not even any kind of,

I don't know,

volatile language or anything like that.

And yet there was strife,

yet there was anger,

yet there was bitterness

that came up unintentionally or unintentionally.

But again, that image of a fire,

it's really perfect in capturing the tongue.

There it is.

And to be frank,

if you don't understand how destructive your tongue is,

how destructive it can be,

whether willfully or unwillfully,

it's only because you haven't paid attention

a day in your life.

I mean, almost every day,

I'm having to clarify something,

rehash something,

reiterate something,

repeat something,

redact something,

contrast.

And these are just some of the verbs

we have in our language

to describe the editing process.

So that gives you an idea

of just how often

we are having to go back,

to clear up,

to clarify.

And to inject all that back into James' imagery

is as if we are constantly trying

to put fires out,

caused by our own words.

Again, whether intentional or unintentional.

Not one aspect of our life

is unaffected by the words we say.

Not one.

And thirdly,

the source of the tongue's fire

is hell itself,

which we see at the end of verse 6.

And that's kind of a weird phrase,

isn't it?

You might think like me

when I first read it,

I thought,

well, God rules in hell.

He punishes the wicked in hell.

So is James saying,

our tongue is set on fire by God?

Like, that doesn't make sense.

Earlier he said,

no one can be tempted by God.

But the actual word here is Gehenna.

It's not hell,

it's Gehenna,

which is a real place in Israel.

Sometimes it's slang,

so to speak, for hell.

Sometimes people use that

as a word for that.

But oftentimes,

it just means plain old Gehenna.

And I think this is one of those cases.

And in the Jewish world,

Gehenna was a place

where trash was burnt,

which is why it often evoked hell

symbolically for the people.

But it also was a place

known for cultic worship

and became a symbol

of demonic activity

to the Jewish people.

throughout the Old Testament,

many Israelites who abandoned God

gave into worshiping the pagan god,

Moloch.

Worship of Moloch

typically included child sacrifice,

and Gehenna became a popular place

for such sacrifice.

In 2 Kings 16, 1-4,

we see King Ahaz,

king of Israel,

sacrifice his son to Moloch,

and it is assumed

that that happened in Gehenna.

And likewise,

King Manasseh soon after

was recorded as having done

much the same.

In 2 Kings 21, 6,

which says,

So notice all that

cultic, demonic activity.

The mediums,

the necromancers,

the fortune tellers,

the omens.

This worship of Moloch

and Gehenna

became such a recurring issue

that God pronounced judgment

on the people and the place.

in Jeremiah 7, 30-34,

by declaring that

in latter days,

Gehenna will be known

as the Valley of Slaughter

because he will use Babylon

to slaughter many Israelites

in that area.

So I say all that to say,

this is a well-known place

to your Jew in the first century.

They know this place.

It has well-established connotations.

Any Jew in James' time

would immediately think

of such things.

And this all relates

to James' argument

because he is saying

that the source

of our tongue's fire

is earthly,

it's demonic,

it's ungodly.

It's not of God.

It is the influence

of the world

and the demons

that work in it.

In other words,

it is evil.

Not only this,

but James is again

alluding to the sermon

on the mount.

in Matthew 5, 22,

Jesus is correcting

everyone's understanding

of the law

regarding murder,

a serious sin.

And Jesus says,

but I say to you

that everyone

who is angry

with his brother

will be liable

to judgment.

And catch this,

whoever insults

his brother

will be liable

to the council.

And whoever says,

i.e. the tongue,

whoever says,

you fool,

will be liable

to hell.

Or there's that word again,

Gehenna, right?

will be liable

to the hell of fire.

So there is

an implicit warning

in James' statement.

Essentially,

he's saying,

if you let your tongue

loose and consume

everything around you

by its fire,

then you too

will perish

by fire.

So to wrap up

the discussion

on the influence

and the power

of the tongue,

James makes

another argument.

He contrasts

controlling the tongue

with controlling

the wild animal kingdom.

And it's so interesting

what he says,

picking back up

in verse 7.

He says,

for every kind

of beast and bird,

of reptile and sea creature,

can be tamed

and has been tamed

by mankind.

He's referring to the garden

when Adam named

all the animals.

But he goes on,

but no human being

can tame the tongue.

It is a restless evil

full of deadly poison.

It takes a lot of work,

it takes a lot of skill,

it takes a lot of time,

but mankind can

and has tamed

all the animal kingdom,

according to James.

But the taming

of the tongue

is even harder,

so much so

that it is impossible

to tame the tongue.

As James says

at the outset

of our text,

which Nathan preached

last week,

if anyone does not stumble

in what he says,

he is a perfect man,

able also to bridle

his whole body.

Meaning,

if you can beat your tongue,

if you can control it perfectly,

there's no other temptation

that will take you over.

This is difficult.

If you beat the big baddie,

you can beat all the little baddies,

right?

That's kind of the idea here.

If you control the tongue,

you can control everything.

So that man would be perfect,

but that man,

James is implying,

does not exist

apart from Christ.

The tongue cannot be tamed,

and it is an unrelenting,

restless,

evil,

poisonous,

and leading to death.

So the tongue has

massive influence

and massive power.

The potential for damage

that a fully loose tongue

can inflict

is unimaginable.

And now,

James is going to continue

speaking about the tongue

and its dangers

with one last critique,

but there is a subtle shift

in what James is addressing.

He was addressing

the tongue itself,

as we have seen,

but now,

he's addressing

the one who professes

to be a Christian,

but whose tongue runs wild.

And we observe this

in verses 9 through 10,

which leads us

to the second observation,

observation number two,

the duality

of the Christ-proclaimer

who does not control

his tongue.

That's long,

so I'll repeat that.

The duality

of the Christ-proclaimer

who does not control

his tongue.

So, picking back up

in verse 9,

James says,

with it,

referring to the tongue,

with the tongue,

we bless our Lord

and Father.

We bless him.

Oh, that's nice.

And with it,

we curse people

who are made

in the likeness of God.

That sounds so nice.

And from the same mouth

come blessing

and cursing.

My brothers,

these things

ought not be so.

I've talked much

about the concept

of bless and blessing,

so I'll forego

explaining that in depth,

but suffice it to say,

James is saying

we wish well things

toward God

in a general sense,

right?

It's goodwill,

right,

towards God.

But the idea of cursing

I've not had a chance

yet to talk about.

So to us,

cursing,

it's kind of lost

its meaning

that it would have had

in the ancient world.

To us,

you know,

we think of like

witches turning

some princess

into a frog,

like,

oh,

cursed,

you know.

But in the ancient world,

cursing carried one idea.

It carried,

I want you to be

totally cut off

from God

in any and all blessing

and I want you

to be tormented

in hell for eternity.

It's the worst thing

you could possibly say

to somebody.

There's no greater threat,

there's no greater

expression of ill will.

So he's saying,

on the one hand,

you bless God,

but at the same time,

you curse his image bearers

to hell for eternity.

So it's serious.

This is not a light

thing to say.

So this person

that James is describing

wants to bless God

with his lips,

but he wants to curse

God's image bearers

to hell.

So what does he want?

Does he want to bless God

or does he want to curse people?

Like,

is that tension

with one another?

These are two

contrary things.

So these people

that James describes

are hypocrites

in the full sense

of the word.

And when you really

consider the kind

of person

that James is describing,

this person seems crazy.

Or in James' words,

he would call this person

double-minded.

The double-minded man

is a concept

that James deals with

throughout his letter.

And we saw this already

in James 1.8

where the double-minded man

is one who doubts God.

He tries to live

for both God

and the world

and is, quote,

unstable in all his ways.

We're going to see

the double-minded man

again in a couple weeks

in James 4.8.

James brings up

the double-minded man

again

and it becomes

abundantly clear

that only false believers

are double-minded.

He's not addressing

weak Christians

in our passage today

but warning his brothers

of false Christians.

This man is double-minded

in our passage

that he's describing.

He wants to bless God

but curse God's image.

And if you recall

Christ's teaching

from the Gospel of Luke,

Luke 6:28

chapter 6, verse 28,

Jesus commanded

his disciples,

bless those

who curse you.

Pray for those

who abuse you.

So the man

with the uncontrolled tongue

in James

is not even cursing

those who curse him.

He's just cursing people

seemingly arbitrarily.

Definitely not

a believer.

And as James says

in verse 10,

my brothers,

he's shifting address,

my brothers,

these things

ought not be so.

How can they be so?

I thought James said

it was impossible.

So the tension

that I mentioned

a while ago,

it's here again

and I promise

we will resolve

that tension in a moment.

James is building it

a little longer

and so we're compelled

to do the same.

And so one final

stab at it

with our third

and final observation

this morning.

There is no solution

to controlling

the tongue

within ourselves.

Observation number three,

there is no solution

to controlling

the tongue

within ourselves.

So let's look

at the imagery here

in verses 11 through 12.

James continues on,

does a spring

pour forth

from the same opening

both fresh

and salt water?

Can a fig tree,

my brothers,

bare olives

or a grapevine

produce figs?

Neither can a salt pond

yield

fresh

water.

So in case anyone

is wondering

the answer

to these questions

that James asked,

the answers are

no,

no,

and no.

It's all impossible.

Essentially,

James asks on repeat,

can good things

produce bad things

or can bad things

produce good things?

And this is another

allusion to the

Sermon on the Mount.

And if you're still

questioning the idea

that James is addressing

false believers

in our text,

this quotation

from Jesus

that I think

James is alluding

to furthers

the point.

So Matthew 7,

Matthew 7:15–20

verse 15 through 20,

Jesus says,

beware of

false prophets.

False prophets

who come to you

in sheep's clothing

but inwardly

are ravenous wolves.

These are

false believers

pretending to be

in the church.

And Jesus goes on,

you will recognize them

by their fruits.

Are grapes gathered

from thorn bushes

or figs from thistles?

So Jesus

is essentially asking

the same questions

that James has asked.

He's making the same

kind of argument

for the same

kind of purpose.

And he continues,

so every healthy tree

bears good fruit

but the diseased tree

bears bad fruit.

A healthy tree

cannot bear bad fruit

nor can a diseased tree

bear good fruit.

Every tree

that does not

bear good fruit

is cut down

and thrown

into the fire.

Thus you will

recognize them

by their fruits.

So James'

allusion to

Jesus' teaching

in the Sermon on the Mount

is to reinforce

the point

that these are

false believers

who have a much

bigger problem

than merely

their tongue.

The issue

for them,

for all of us

apart from Christ,

the issue

is their heart.

Later on

in Matthew's Gospel

Jesus picks up

this topic again

and says to false

teachers in Matthew

Matthew 12:33–34

12 verse 33

to 34

he says

either make

the tree

good

and its fruit

good

or make

the tree

bad

and its fruit

bad

for the tree

is known

by its fruit.

You brood of vipers

how can you speak

good

when you are evil?

And here it is

for out of the

abundance

of the heart

the mouth

speaks.

So the mouth

the tongue

as uncontrolled

as it is

as great of a fire

as it is

as consuming

as it is

it's really

just revealing

our hearts.

This is what

James is getting

at with his

rhetorical questions

he is saying

these double-minded

men

are salt ponds

and that is

why their water

is not good

for drinking

it is why

their words

are full

of poison

he is saying

they lack

faith

which means

their heart

is unaffected

had they

true faith

saving

faith

it would show

in their works

according to

James

in chapter 2

verse 18

had they

true saving

faith

we know

from James 1

5 through 8

that they would

ask God

for wisdom

and for restraint

in controlling

their tongues

but they don't

because he addressed

this

the double-minded

man doesn't

ask

by faith

now perhaps

you're beginning

to see

that James

is addressing

unbelievers

and their

double life

but you're probably

really wondering

what does this

have to do

with me

what is this

text

how is this

profitable

for the church

today

well at the very

least we can say

that this serves

as a good warning

of how to discern

true believers

from false believers

as well as

false teachers

from true teachers

bringing us back

to verse 1

right

not many of you

should become

teachers my brothers

so this text

should always serve

as a discerning

guide

in these matters

but also

the serious

righteousness

and weight

with which

James speaks

to controlling

our tongues

ought to grab

our attention

we are reminded

that apart from

Christ we can

do nothing

good

apart from

Christ

we cannot

control

or even

restrain

our lips

in the slightest

and so it

becomes

all the more

imperative

that we have

a healthy

habitual

and regular

prayer life

in which we

confess

our sins

to God

and ask

for help

and wisdom

there will be

more on the

wisdom piece

next week

hint and

sack

I think

yeah

we need to

put aside

all double

talk

and double

living

again our

lives are

meant to

be given

wholly

and completely

to God

right

don't curse

God's image

bearers

while professing

love for

Christ

it's an

oxymoron

right

we need

to put

aside

all

double

talk

we are

able

to do

this

because

Christ

now

lives

in us

who by

grace

through faith

have

been

saved

we are

without

excuse

and we

have

every

possible

means

at our

disposal

to resist

sin

and

the

devil

yet

we will

inevitably

fail

at times

until

God's

sanctifying

work

is

finished

so there's

that

tension

right

we're

never

going to

fully

control

our

tongues

in this

life

we're

never

going to

fully

arrive

in this

life

but

a

general

pattern

as we've

been

talking

about

throughout

the book

of James

we're

going to

be

growing

more and

more

looking

like

Christ

representing

Christ

acting

like

Christ

though

failing

and for

our

failures

of course

we are

atoned

for

and

covered

by

Christ

so that

tension

is resolved

it's

it's

it finds

its

relief

in

Christ

and

Christ

alone

yes

we'll

still

say

stupid

things

intentionally

and

unintentionally

but

by

grace

we

will

learn

to

restrain

our

lips

more

and

more

to

speak

holy

words

for

a

holy

God

now

before

we get

to our

closing

applications

I want

to read

this

passage

from

Romans

Romans 7:4–6

7

verses

4

through

6

you can

turn

there

if

you

want

it'll

be

quick

but

in

this

text

Paul

is

addressing

us

as

believers

post

salvation

right

this text

speaks

to our

present

reality

with our

sinful

nature

and with

the

holy

spirit

at work

in us

and

again

when you

read this

at first

you might

be tempted

to see

that same

tension

that we've

felt

in our

text

for today

but

Paul

seems to

think

of this

as

freedom

and I

think

if you

really

look closely

at what

he's

saying

you'll

see

that

and

you'll

feel

that

so

Paul

writes

in

Romans

Romans 7:4–6

7

verses

4

through

6

he

says

likewise

my

brothers

you

also

have

died

to the

law

through

the

body

of

Christ

so

that

you

may

belong

to

one

another

to

him

who

has

been

raised

from

the

dead

in

order

that

we

may

bear

fruit

for

God

for

while

we

were

living

in

the

flesh

that's

a lot

of

W's

for

while

we

were

living

in

the

flesh

our

sinful

passions

aroused

by

the

law

were

at

work

in

our

members

to

bear

fruit

for

death

but

now

we

are

released

from

the

law

having

died

to

that

which

held

us

captive

so

that

we

serve

in

the

new

way

of

the

spirit

and

not

in

the

old

way

of

the

written

code

we

are

free

indeed

to

serve

in

the

new

way

of

the

!

by

restraining

!

our lips

application

number

one

speak

sparingly

which is

a nice

way of

saying

as I

would

hear

in my

house

often

shut

up

in

love

but

I'd

hear

it

so

this

is

a

general

rule

of

thumb

right

obviously

there

will

be

times

when

you

speak

more

but

generally

it's

better

to

just

not

speak

if

you

don't

have

to

to

restrain

your

lips

which

is

them

from

our

text

today

you're

playing

with

fire

every

time

you

talk

right

so

you

want

to

be

careful

to

speak

sparingly

in

fact

Proverbs

10

19

says

as

much

Solomon

wrote

when

words

are

many

so

when

you

speak

a

lot

when

words

are

many

transgression

or

sin

is

not

lacking

but

whoever

restrains

his

lips

is

prudent

or

wise

so

I

found

that

this

is

especially

true

when

I

am

surrounded

by

strangers

or

people

who

do

not

know

me

as

well

you

can

say

things

around

your

friends

and

family

where

they

know

what

you

are

and

what

you

are

not

saying

oh my

gosh

I

revealing

a

heart

that

is

in

submission

to

God

or

am

I

revealing

things

that

aren't

in

submission

and

how

can

I

correct

those

things

right

by

repentance

and

faith

so

again

restrain

your

lips

speak

sparingly

application

number

two

assume

the

best

in

one

another

so

two

reasons

to

assume

the

best

in

one

another

first

because

communication

is

tough

as

James

has

made

abundantly

clear

in our

text

today

so

even

though

it

was

unintentional

sometimes

something

is said

poorly

sometimes

something

is

heard

poorly

either

way

allow

time

and

space

for

someone

to

say

what

they

need

to

say

and

think

carefully

over

what

they

mean

and

don't

mean

and

I'll

throw

some

advice

in

from

James

as a

bonus

he says

in

James

119

be

quick

to

hear

slow

to

speak

slow

to

anger

for

the

anger

of man

does

not

produce

the

righteousness

of

God

the

other

reason

we

are

to

assume

the

best

in

one

another

because

we

are

commanded

to

Paul

says

in

1st

Corinthians

13

7

love

bears

all

things

believes

all

things

hopes

all

things

endures

all

things

he's

writing

to a

church

that

has

an

issue

with

unity

so

in

context

he's

saying

here

that

we

should

hope

and

believe

in

the

best

of

those

whom

we

love

who are

we

are

called

to

love

everybody

but

especially

our

fellow

believers

so

if

somebody

ever

says

something

that

hits

you

the

wrong

way

or

maybe

you

misheard

or

maybe

it

could

be

read

a

certain

way

that's

not

so

loving

or

positive

rather

than

jumping

to

anger

and

assumption

assume

the

best

about

that

brother

and

address

them

over

it

seek

clarification

or

even

better

just

let

it

go

right

don't

worry

about

what

James

is

saying

is

true

that

means

when

we're

out

in

the

hallway

talking

with

each

other

there's

fire

all

over

the

place

intentional

unintentional

we need

to be

careful

there's

going to

be

things

you hear

that

offend

you

that

weren't

meant

to

offend

you

you

will

be

miserable

your

whole

life

if

you

let

everything

said

and

done

that

offends

you

occupy

your

thoughts

your

energy

and

your

time

in

fact

let

me

make

this

simple

for

everyone

the

world

already

hates

you

because

you're

a

Christ

follower

so

you

don't

have

to

worry

about

whether

or not

they

want

to

offend

you

they'll

do

it

you

don't

have

to

question

it

so

you

can

just

well

you know

as the old saying

goes

get over it

but

you know

but you

can get

past it

you don't

have to

let

these

things

define

you

occupy

your

space

you don't

need

to

worry

and

boil

over

it

and

again

proverbs

speaks

to

this

proverbs

10

or

excuse

me

19

11

solomon

writes

good

sense

all right

good

sense

i like

to use

the term

common

sense

right

good

sense

makes