What do Paul Newman, Albert Einstein and that funny looking horse have in common? Not much, but they all are making faces. You can tell a lot about a person by their face- Anger, sadness, worry, meanness and my favorite, playfulness. Now, the first two pictures are just that- funny. But that third one- I don't have a clue as to what is going on behind those eyes. But- I like it anyway. There is another side of the tongue that is not-so-good, as these passages from the Bible show...
Isaiah, Chapter 57
4 Against whom do you sport yourselves? Against whom do you make a wide mouth, and stick out your tongue? Aren’t you children of disobedience, a seed of falsehood, 5 you who inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every green tree; who kill the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks? 6 Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion; they, they are your lot; you have even poured a drink offering to them. You have offered an offering. Shall I be appeased for these things? 7 On a high and lofty mountain you have set your bed; there also you went up to offer sacrifice. 8 Behind the doors and the posts you have set up your memorial:
for you have uncovered to someone besides me,
and have gone up;
you have enlarged your bed,
and made you a covenant with them:
you loved their bed where you saw it.
And
James, Chapter 3
1 Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment. 2 For in many things we all stumble. If anyone doesn’t stumble in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also. 3 Indeed, we put bits into the horses’ mouths so that they may obey us, and we guide their whole body. 4 Behold, the ships also, though they are so big and are driven by fierce winds, are yet guided by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot desires. 5 So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest! 6 And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna. 7 For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and thing in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the image of God. 10 Out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
Israel was a spiritually faithless people for much of their existence. They rebelled against God again and again. As the Isaiah passage points out, they made sport of God and went after Idols, time and again. Apostasy begins with thinking about ungodly things and then talking about them and finally doing them. So, the tongue is critical in being faithful to God, because what we talk about (or make sport of) indicates what we are thinking!!! It's OK to have fun, after all... a little silliness is good for you. But when it comes to spiritual matters-- watch what you say!!! Your heart is showing!!! Crazy faces brighten us my day, so I do them from time to time, but most of the time just a smile will do. Therefore, of the three pictures-- Paul Newman is my favorite!!!! Let me know if you have a favorite-- and why!!! I just want to get to know you better that's all....
Finally, this picture (from 1996?) is just for fun...
