Remember - Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires!
August 4, 2020
When I was a kid, there were public service announcements on TV that pictured a bear in U.S. Forest Service hat pointing his finger at me. Smokey’s message was short: “Remember - Only you can prevent forest fires!” The pictures were sobering, showing Smokey Bear standing in front with small forest animals and blackened charred trees, flames, and smoke in the background. It left an impression on my young mind.
Yesterday as I read my morning devotion, Smokey popped into my head again. Since March, I have been slowly moving through the New Testament again and have been skipping around some. But, the inevitable happened this week - the Book of James (insert ominous music here). I can’t say that I was actually avoiding it, but since the only New Testament books I have yet to read are Philemon and Revelations, I guess I have been postponing it. The verses that jumped out at me were James 3:2, 5-6, & 8-10:
2 For we all often stumble and fall and offend in many things. And if anyone does not offend in speech [never says the wrong things], he is a fully developed character and a perfect man, able to control his whole body and to curb his entire nature.
5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and it can boast of great things. See how much wood or how great a forest a tiny spark can set ablaze! 6 And the tongue is a fire. [The tongue is a] world of wickedness set among our members, contaminating and depraving the whole body and setting on fire the wheel of birth (the cycle of man’s nature), being itself ignited by hell (Gehenna).
8 But the human tongue can be tamed by no man. It is a restless (undisciplined, irreconcilable) evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who were made in God’s likeness! 10 Out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing. These things, my brethren, ought not to be so. (AMPC)
Fire and poison. This is a harsh. But Jesus used equally harsh terms in Matthew 12:34-36. He likened an unruly tongue to a source of poison, calling those who were not watching their tongues the offspring of vipers. That’s pretty strong and it came from the mouth of Jesus Christ, who only speaks truth.
34 You offspring of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil (wicked)? For out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man from his inner good treasure flings forth good things, and the evil man out of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things. 36 But I tell you, on the day of judgment men will have to give account for every idle (inoperative, nonworking) word they speak. (AMPC)
I used to be proud of being a smart aleck, but after an incident with a gentleman at church, I am no longer proud of it. I said something to this man that I meant to be funny. But, I could tell right away that I had offended him. He push back a little and I immediately apologized. He forgave me in the moment, but the poison had already been released and the damage was done. Over the next weeks and months, I could see he was avoiding me, and my attempts to engage him were met with a reservation that had not been there before. He was trying very hard to forgive me because he knew he was supposed to forgive and move on. But, I could see the significant effort it was requiring for him to have a smile on his face around me. I was horrified at what I put this guy through with a handful of thoughtless and useless words. The tongue is a small body part…but what a great forest fire a little kindling starts. If I ever needed an example of James 3:5, this was it.
So yes, there are two sides to this. He made a choice to be offended and stay offended, but I should have never created the situation that resulted in the offense. Since this event, I have been much more conscious of my words and have, on many more occasions, chosen to be silent rather than risk offending in an attempt to be funny. I am a long way from having a perfect (mature) and fully developed character, but I have grown up a little more. I now have a new daily prayer from Psalm 141:3: Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth: Keep watch over the door of my lips. All these years later, I still need to heed Smokey Bear’s warning: Remember, only you can prevent forest fires.
