Pollution: January 31, 2013

TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY JANUARY 31, 2013.

POLLUTION

DEFINITION:

To make fowl or unclean; to make impure or morally unclean; to defile.

SCRIPTURE:

For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and over-come, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. II Peter 2:20.

Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked. Proverbs 25:26. 

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

You may wonder why we picked a word like pollution for our devotional word of the day. Please read on and you will understand why we did. Today much is being said in our world about pollution because it is of great concern. It is a threat to our physical health. When the word pollution is mentioned we think only of water pollution, air pollution, or soil pollution. Pollution is caused by man dumping garbage, chemicals, and all kinds of toxic substances into the environment.

When the Bible speaks of pollution it is speaking of the pollution of our minds and our bodies which is a threat to our spiritual well being. Pollution of the mind and body is caused by what we dump into them. We live in a polluted world both environmentally and spiritually. Today the majority of the people in this world are much more concerned about the pollution of our environment than the pollution of their mind and moral values.

James (1:27) advises us to keep ourselves from being polluted by the world. In today’s world that is not easy. We live in a sinful world and the reality of sin is that it is infectious. Like a toxic pollutant put in a river, sin spreads. Christians are in a constant battle with the pollutions of evil influences in our world.

As we read in II Peter 2:20 (above), even after someone has been freed from the sinfulness of the world by knowing the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they can become entangled once again in sin and overcome by sin’s polluting power. To return to a life of sin after we know the truth is to reject the truth. To reject the truth is like a drowning person rejecting a life preserver when it is thrown to him. Peter says the one who knows the truth and then rejects the truth is worse off than before because he has rejected the one and only way to be saved from his sins that have polluted his spiritual life.

Both Paul and James addressed the evil of the pollution that comes out of our mouth. James tells us that “the tongue corrupts the whole person.” We are told by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:29 to “let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Corrupt words are “verbal pollution.” Verbal pollution takes on many forms: criticism, backbiting, gossip, bitterness; anger to name a few. Often we neglect to think how some of the words we say pollute the environment of our home, our church, and our neighborhood and more importantly, how they affect our testimony.

Dr. Charles Swindoll wrote about knowing a group of friends who became concerned about this form of pollution and the part that they might be playing in it. They made a pact to avoid saying critical words for one whole week. They were surprised to find out how little they spoke. As they continued the experiment, they actually agreed that they had to relearn conversational skills.

The apostle Paul called on us as believers, in Ephesians 4, to that kind of decisive action to remove those things that pollute our life. He said we are to put off the old self and its conduct that grieves the Holy Spirit and put on the new self that builds up others. As we rely on the Holy Spirit we can make those changes in our conduct, in our thinking and in our speaking.

If we really want to get rid of our verbal pollution we must choose to change and do this by asking God for His help. This is a great way to help start cleaning up our spiritual environment. You will be surprised how your spouse, children, family and friends will react. They will see the dramatic difference and will want to join with you. Help stamp out pollution --- clean up your speech!

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Hebrews 13:8.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

PRAYER:

Help me to be concerned about the pollution of my corrupt words that are affecting my testimony and my relationship to others. Give me the discipline to clean up my words of criticism, jealousy and gossip. Make my life and my words an example of Your glory in all that I do today.