Flashback Friday - Tongue Out of Control - Martin Wiles

Tongue Out of Control

Carelessness was the reason it began. And in a matter of moments, it raged out of control. 

The Rim Fire—so named because of its close proximity to the Rim of the World vista point, was the third largest wildfire in California’s history and the largest on record in the Sierra Nevada. The fire started on August 17, 2013, and wasn’t contained until October 24. By the time firefighters brought it under control, it had burned 257,314 acres and a number of structures. Read more...

Tweetable: How do you control your tongue?

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Tell Your Story - Martin Wiles

Series: The Road to Humility

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. James 5:16 NLT

Admitting it made me feel uneasy.

The it was actually a them, and the list dragged on. Things not everyone knew about me. Things I was ashamed of. Things like divorce, financial breakdowns, lust, parental mishaps, addictions, rebellion. Sordid sins that tainted my reputation and could keep me out of certain positions if the wrong person knew.

Now my editor instructed me to be honest in my writings. Put all the bad stuff out there. If I did, others would identify with me. I’d be more human, and more people would read what I wrote.

So I became vulnerable and started sharing it all. Well … most of it. Some things were better left unsaid. I discovered she knew best. Comments from readers told of how they appreciated my honesty … how they’d dealt with some of the same things … how my experience helped them on their spiritual journey.

I stopped worrying about what others thought—the ones who thought they were on a higher spiritual plain. Too good to do some of the things I had done.

I’ve often done what James suggests in small groups and experienced others doing it as well. Confession of sin is the very reason why some avoid these groups. Shame or a refusal to be vulnerable keeps them away.

Telling our stories—even when they’re sordid—keeps us humble and keeps pride away. Pride makes us want to remain quiet. We don’t want others to know we’re less than perfect. We want our facades to be spotless. Fear is pride’s counterpart. Fear of what others will think. Fear they’ll ostracize us, laugh at us, or gossip about us.

Telling our stories helps those who haven’t to open up and share theirs. And sharing—admitting and confessing—is one step on the road to healing. Knowing others face similar things helps. Telling how you conquered your sin gives them fodder to face and overcome theirs.

God uses our weaknesses to assist others. When we’re weak—or when we admit we are—He is strong. Letting others know how God has pulled us through gives them the courage to trust Him to do the same for them.

Don’t fear telling your story to others—even if it includes shameful details. God will use it to help others.

Tweetable: Are you telling your story?

Prayer: Father, give us the courage to share what You’ve done in our lives so others can benefit.

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Take the Back Seat - Martin Wiles

Series: The Road to Humility

It’s better to wait for an invitation to the head table than to be sent away in public disgrace. Proverbs 25:7 NLT

She inched through the parking lot, looking for a space—but not just any space.

Tyler Perry’s Madea wanted a space down front, so she slowly made her way up and down every aisle looking for an empty spot and waiting for someone to back out. As she did, a snobby rich woman in a fancy sports car followed her, honking her horn and screaming at her to get out of the way.

Madea, ignoring her, finally saw someone backing out. She politely stopped and waited while the woman continued to blow at her. As Madea was about to pull into the parking space, the rich woman zoomed around her and took her spot. Madea was furious, yelled at her, and told her she knew she was waiting on that spot. The rich woman ignored her and proceeded into the store.

Not one to let anyone else get anything over on her, Madea mounted a forklift that sat nearby, picked the woman’s car up, and dumped it on its roof—an action that landed her in jail.

Madea wanted the best space in the parking lot, but so did the rich woman. The scene shows human nature at its best—and worst. We typically want the best, not less. The writer of Proverbs says it’s better to take the back seat and wait for an invitation to come up front than it is to be humiliated by the host and asked to move from the front to the back. Jesus aid a similar thing hundreds of years later.

Pride, not humility, leads me to crave the best—the place that puts me above others and shines the spotlight on me. Trouble is, what appears as the best doesn’t remain the best for long. Someone more important or better liked will always displace me. And if the best is material possessions, I’ll discover they decompose just like the less-than-best stuff. Nothing is permanent; everything is temporary.

Panting for the best above others also ruins my testimony. Humility leads me to put others first and serve them. Madea could have offered the spot to the rich snob, but pride led her to take revenge instead. Jesus put others above Himself. As His followers, we should do the same.

Look for ways to put the needs of others above yours.

Tweetable: Are you willing to take the back seat?

Prayer: Father, give us a humble spirit that allows others to take the spot before us.

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Throwback Tuesday - Pain is Temporary - Martin Wiles

Pain is Temporary

“If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.”

What better person to pen these words than Corrie ten Boom since she was a survivor of World War II Nazi death camps. Her family helped many Jews escape Nazi Germany, but on February 28, 1944, they were all arrested for their crimes and shipped off to Scheveningen prison. 

Two of her family members—along with a nephew, were released immediately. One died 10 days later. Corrie and a remaining sister were shipped to another prison camp and then another where Corrie’s sister died on December 28, 1944. Before dying, she related to Corrie, “There is no pit so deep that He [God] is not deeper still.” Twelve days later, Corrie was released. Read more...

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Take the Criticism - Martin Wiles

Series: The Road to Humility

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. Isaiah 53:7 KJV

“You just brought her out here because you don’t like her.”

I listened as the grandmother hurled angry insults at my wife. My wife substituted for the teacher of the Wednesday night girls’ group. The teacher had asked her to teach at the last minute, but she had no time to prepare or literature to prepare with. She did what seemed logical: brought the one girl into the adult prayer service.

Grandma didn’t think her actions were logical. When she got her chance, she accused my wife of not liking the little girl. Not teaching her and bringing her into the prayer service proved it.

My wife burst into tears, but no one bothered to comfort her. I couldn’t comfort her either since I was leading the prayer service. I wish I could say the mother and grandmother later apologized for their outburst and unfair criticism, but they didn’t. I also wish I could say this was the only time someone in my family or me were the recipients of unfair criticism—but it isn’t.

Jesus knew about criticism. The accusations against Him were unfair and untrue. Jealously led the religious leaders to hurl their poisonous darts against Him—and to lead the people to do the same. Even as He hung on the cross dying, the insults and condemnation continued. Instead of hurling them back, He asked the Father to forgive them.

Reproach isn’t easy to take. Revenge—or criticizing back—is our natural reaction. Keeping our mouth shut takes practice, humility, and a lot of help from God.

I don’t like criticism any more than the next person, but I’ve learned there’s often a grain of truth even in unjust criticism. Looking for it, and learning from it, promotes humility and helps me hone my interpersonal relationships. The simple lesson from the grandmother’s accusations was to make sure extra teacher books were in the classroom in case the teacher was absent.

Unjust blame also helps me help people since hurt people normally hurt people. Often the criticism is really about something else, not the issue that surfaces.

Whether the criticism is fair or unfair, not passing it along is wise. Better to pass along forgiveness and encouragement.

When others criticize you, ask God to teach you a lesson from it.

Tweetable: How do you handle criticism?

Prayer: Father, when we are reviled by others, help us to respond as Jesus did.

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