“Pastor Jerry…”

James 3:3-5  We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.

As a Youth Pastor in El Cajon, CA I had set up Covenant Groups. These were groups of students who held each other accountable. I was in a Covenant Group with my students leaders. They were given the responsibility to keep each other, and me, in check.

My group came up with a system. Whenever we were in a crowd and I needed to check myself they would say, “Pastor Jerry…” and that would be a sign to me that I needed guidance. I never made students (or anyone else, for that matter) refer to me as Pastor. My mama named me Jerry.

Everything went well until we attended a Padres baseball game in our old bus. Nobody would let me merge to get out of the stadium and I was getting hot, literally and figuratively. I was mumbling under my breath, plotting the deaths of drivers around me and letting them know just how stupid I thought they were. From the back of the bus I heard four or five voices in a sing song voice saying, “Pastor Jerry, oh Pastor Jerry…” Their message was clear, “Godsey, you need to check your mouth!” Message understood.

It is so easy to lose control of that vicious little muscle we call the tongue. It is such a tiny part of our bodies, yet it can wreak so much havoc in our lives. I would love to tell you that this was the only time I lost control of my tongue, but you and I know better than that.

So how do we control our unruly little member? We turn it over to God daily, hourly, minute by minute. We don’t have to be set afire by our tongues, but of God isn’t in control of them we will be.

Today’s Readings: 2 Kings  17; 2 Chronicles  28; Psalm 46; James 3

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