Who Would Sinclair Ferguson Listen To?
I’m taking a fast from national news, primarily because I’m rather disappointed with the nontruth telling by both Presidential candiates, their campaigns and their parties. Still, I know already for whom I’m voting so, at this point, to listen to either candidate or their talking heads is only exasperating, even discouraging. I am however still listening to good preaching. This evening I heard Sinclair Ferguson speak on the human tongue from James 3:1-12.
I was particuarly struck by verse 9 which reads, “With it [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.” Sounds like a Presidential race to me. One aspect of God’s judgement on a nation is that their leaders reflect the people who support them. America isn’t going to be judged. It’s Presidential candidates reflect the judgement of God.
In this case, both candidates reflect a nation whose church hallway conversations or office watercooler gossip would elect a candidate like themselves. They are candidates and we are citizens who are talk like “wild horses” act (v 3), “beached ships” who are off course (v 4), “exaggerating” that doesn’t know that exaggerating is lying (v 5a), a “forest fire” that destroys much good (v 5b), ”restless evil” (v 8b), and “deadly poison” (v 8c). It’s the kind of talk that hypocritically thinks it can bless God while cursing the people whom God has made.
That single verse teaches us that whatever we say to or about a human being, we say to/about an invisible God Whom we treat with the same disrespect by ‘dissing’ His creation. For McCain to ‘dis’ Obama and Obama to ‘dis’ McCain is to ‘dis’ the God Who gave them tongues. And the same is true for people who speak ill of others.
Link speaking ill of others to Romans 1:32 which not only condemns sin but also those who “give approvel to those who practice them” (various sins) and you arrive at the reason for my fast from national news. I don’t want to do what the Presidential caindidates are doing, I don’t want to be influenced by what they are doing and I don’t want to approve of what they are doing by watching or listening to them. Any person who speaks like this to get elected is probably not worth listening to if he gets elected.
I’m not sure if Sinclair Ferguson would take his message as far as I have with regard to American Presidential candidates but, then again, he can’t vote…he’s from the land of the Weems (Wemys)…he’s Scottish.
October 30th, 2008 at 1:34 am
me, too, Reg.