Taming My Tongue

A Reflection on the Second Reading for March 6th, 2022:
First Sunday of Lent

---

Romans
10.8-13

Brothers and sisters, what does Scripture say? “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.

The Scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
​

Trusting God is difficult. A lot of the time, I’d much rather trust my own judgments, and act according to my own feelings, because, well, it seems easier. But when I take a step back and reflect, it’s not hard to see the trap into which I am led when I go with the flow of my own perspective rather than God’s.

A dear friend of mine once spoke about seeing our lives with an “eternal perspective” as opposed to our earthly, human one, and it made a deep impression on me. I’ve realized that when I forget to think and act with an eternal perspective, it exposes my woundedness: it exposes my desire to be liked, my desire to be right. 

It exposes my pride. 

My tongue exposes my heart… and my lack of belief. The third chapter of the book of James adds dimension to what we read from Saint Paul today. James says, “How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire.” 

If, in any given moment, I forget the presence of God’s heart in mine; if I forget the power that rests in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for my sake, then I am vulnerable to the power of my tongue; to the power of my pride. Self-protection in the form of pride is a powerful instinct that can only be overridden by belief in a God who can and will protect my heart. It’s a complex dance of psychology and spirituality — and just as Saint Paul states here: It depends on belief.

It depends on slowing down. It depends on a moment-by-moment awareness and confidence that the Lord is generous to all who call on Him. It is only in the cultivation of this discipline that I will come to what Saint James goes on to exhort in his third chapter: “Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.”

I believe, without any doubt, that these words from Saint Paul are true: “For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.” 



Lord, in this Lenten season, I pray that You will help me to be more aware of where pride takes over my tongue. Help me to live intentionally, deeply immersed in my belief in Your goodness and in Your unfathomable love for me. Amen.




Lindsay Elford

---