A Different Kind of Air Quality Alert

  I love Minnesota summers.  The snow is finally gone and we can enjoy this incredible gift of nature that God has given us.  Not so much though when the air is filled with smelly wildfire smoke.  That seems to be the reoccurring theme this summer.  I keep on wondering if there is anything left in Canada to burn.  I find it amazing though that what would have started as a small fire, has spread to the magnitude that it can infest an entire region with smoke!  It doesn’t even respect international boundaries. 

            This brings to mind something that we find in the book of James.  James writes in 3:5, “The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.  Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.  The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.  It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”  James is teaching that fire isn’t the only thing that can impact air quality. Our words can to. They can be used for great good and they can be used to destroy.  They can destroy not only ourselves, but deeply damage those around us.  That is why we need to watch what we say.  As Christians, it is even more important because they reflect our witness for Christ.  For many of us, including extroverts like me, watching what we say is a challenge.

            I am decided that whenever I walk outside and smell the smoke, I am going to use it as a reminder to watch my words.  Communication is a great gift from God but it needs to be stewarded well. I wonder what it would be like if we took this to heart and grew in how we used our words.  May we be a community that uses our words to spread the love of Jesus instead of stinking up the world around us.