“So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.” (James 1:21, NLT)
As I read the above scripture this morning, I wondered what the scripture meant by “filth”. James 1:21 urges the faithful to “get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives”. To help in this endeavor, the scripture urges the reader to “humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls” (James 1:21b). Taken in context, James asks that all followers of Christ replace any “filth and evil” with the Word of God. The scripture claims that this process has the ability to “save your souls”. To understand this transfer in the soul from filth and evil to an established Word of God, I thought we should look more closely at this scripture.
For you to be closer to God, evil and filth have to be ejected from your life. You probably know the definition of “evil”. As defined in most modern dictionaries, evil is what is wicked or sinful or reprehensible. Biblically, evil is what is in opposition to God. Anything that goes against God’s Kingdom, God’s righteousness, or God’s way is considered evil. That is why Satan, sins, wickedness, and much more is defined as evil in the Bible. It all goes against God. However, today’s scripture also urges us to rid our lives of “filth”. Usually, filth is defined as what is dirty. A messy room can be filthy. Stained clothes can be considered filthy. However, this scripture is not claiming messiness is filthy. If you look closely at the Greek in this verse, filthy means “morally impure” or “morally dirty”. The word “filthy”, in its original Greek form, is directly related to morals. A spiritually filthy person has bad morals. Taken in context, a spiritually filthy person has morals that are based on poor or evil standards that go against God’s word. An evil person may sin, but a spiritually filthy person will have bad standards that cause one to continually live in opposition to good and godly ways. In a sense, having spiritual filthiness in one’s life is akin to having a sinful attitude about life choices.
At the meetings of community pastors where I once lived, Father Jake was a regular attender. He was a great friend and a good priest. What I especially loved about Father Jake was that he was “down to earth”. He seldom used lofty religious wording. He didn’t like the pretentiousness of some who considered themselves “religious elites”. He was easy to talk to and a trusted listener.
After one pastors’ meeting, Father Jake spoke with a couple of us who remained. As we swapped stories about issues in our churches, Jake opened up about a member of his congregation named Jerry. Jerry made Father Jake feel uncomfortable. Jerry was very active, always willing to lend a hand for church functions, a good father, and a faithful husband. However, the priest knew that Jerry had another side to his life, a more hidden side. Jerry liked to “cut loose” every now and then. He had some rowdy friends. Together, they would go hunting or fishing, have card parties, or party nights. When the group got together, they would often drink heavily, smoke cigars, party until the wee hours of the night, swear up a storm, visit strip clubs, and become loud and obnoxious. Jerry’s wife knew about the wild nights with this group of guys and was often shocked and embarrassed by their group antics. Several times, friends approached Jerry’s wife with stories of Jerry’s bad behavior and sick jokes when out with “the guys”.
Jerry’s wife asked Father Jake to speak to her husband about the group and their bad behavior. Father Jake approached Jerry privately and they talked. Jake listened politely. In the end, he told Father Jake that this group provided the only way he could handle his stressful life. He wasn’t going to give up the wild parties. He was a devoted husband and father and very supportive of the church. He asked Father Jake to “leave it alone”. Jerry believed that he deserved to live it up and have fun once in a while. He believed that his friends were the perfect outlet to “cut loose”.
Jerry may be a Christian. He may be generous and good when not at one of his wild parties. However, this wild part of Jerry’s life has exposed his filthy behavior. This part of Jerry’s life laid bare his “bad boy” desires and displayed a sinful attitude. Though Jerry considers this part of his life “fun”, his antics while out with the guys is anything from Christian and faithful. It is morally impure.
Jerry is not an evil man. However, he does have a filthy side to his life. The scripture from James 1:21 urges Jerry to rid his life of filth. He needs to replace it with scripture. I find it very interesting that Jerry once remarked to Father Jake that the reason he doesn’t read the Bible very often is that it makes him feel too guilty. One must wonder if God isn’t trying to speak to Jerry about the sordid part of his life.
I have met church goers who were very proud of their younger days when they “sowed their wild oats”. I have met self-confessed Christians who had various addictions. I have worried over church people who considered it their right to act poorly toward others. There are people who go to church on Sunday to beg forgiveness from God for debauchery committed on Saturday nights. According to James 1:21, these people need to “get rid of all the filth and evil in their lives”. ALL the filth and evil, not just some.
I am reminded of a friend from my church who once said to me, “Pastor Dave, you can’t expect people to give up all the fun in their lives in order to be good Christians!” Since when is fun only aligned with moral filth or evil? Why do faithful people believe that being faithful is not enjoyable in itself?
Is there a part of your life that exhibits bad behavior or indecent morals? Is there a desire to do filthy things that you hide from others? Loving God requires that you rid your life of evil and filth. It helps to replace these with joy in studying God’s word and being in God’s presence. If you find that joy and God don’t go together very well, you probably don’t have a healthy relationship with God. If you find that filthy habits keep surfacing in your life, work your best to keep your mind and heart and soul attuned to God and God’s Word. Satan loves to bait the spiritual hook with attractive filth!
For you to be closer to God, evil and filth have to be ejected from your life. You probably know the definition of “evil”. As defined in most modern dictionaries, evil is what is wicked or sinful or reprehensible. Biblically, evil is what is in opposition to God. Anything that goes against God’s Kingdom, God’s righteousness, or God’s way is considered evil. That is why Satan, sins, wickedness, and much more is defined as evil in the Bible. It all goes against God. However, today’s scripture also urges us to rid our lives of “filth”. Usually, filth is defined as what is dirty. A messy room can be filthy. Stained clothes can be considered filthy. However, this scripture is not claiming messiness is filthy. If you look closely at the Greek in this verse, filthy means “morally impure” or “morally dirty”. The word “filthy”, in its original Greek form, is directly related to morals. A spiritually filthy person has bad morals. Taken in context, a spiritually filthy person has morals that are based on poor or evil standards that go against God’s word. An evil person may sin, but a spiritually filthy person will have bad standards that cause one to continually live in opposition to good and godly ways. In a sense, having spiritual filthiness in one’s life is akin to having a sinful attitude about life choices.
At the meetings of community pastors where I once lived, Father Jake was a regular attender. He was a great friend and a good priest. What I especially loved about Father Jake was that he was “down to earth”. He seldom used lofty religious wording. He didn’t like the pretentiousness of some who considered themselves “religious elites”. He was easy to talk to and a trusted listener.
After one pastors’ meeting, Father Jake spoke with a couple of us who remained. As we swapped stories about issues in our churches, Jake opened up about a member of his congregation named Jerry. Jerry made Father Jake feel uncomfortable. Jerry was very active, always willing to lend a hand for church functions, a good father, and a faithful husband. However, the priest knew that Jerry had another side to his life, a more hidden side. Jerry liked to “cut loose” every now and then. He had some rowdy friends. Together, they would go hunting or fishing, have card parties, or party nights. When the group got together, they would often drink heavily, smoke cigars, party until the wee hours of the night, swear up a storm, visit strip clubs, and become loud and obnoxious. Jerry’s wife knew about the wild nights with this group of guys and was often shocked and embarrassed by their group antics. Several times, friends approached Jerry’s wife with stories of Jerry’s bad behavior and sick jokes when out with “the guys”.
Jerry’s wife asked Father Jake to speak to her husband about the group and their bad behavior. Father Jake approached Jerry privately and they talked. Jake listened politely. In the end, he told Father Jake that this group provided the only way he could handle his stressful life. He wasn’t going to give up the wild parties. He was a devoted husband and father and very supportive of the church. He asked Father Jake to “leave it alone”. Jerry believed that he deserved to live it up and have fun once in a while. He believed that his friends were the perfect outlet to “cut loose”.
Jerry may be a Christian. He may be generous and good when not at one of his wild parties. However, this wild part of Jerry’s life has exposed his filthy behavior. This part of Jerry’s life laid bare his “bad boy” desires and displayed a sinful attitude. Though Jerry considers this part of his life “fun”, his antics while out with the guys is anything from Christian and faithful. It is morally impure.
Jerry is not an evil man. However, he does have a filthy side to his life. The scripture from James 1:21 urges Jerry to rid his life of filth. He needs to replace it with scripture. I find it very interesting that Jerry once remarked to Father Jake that the reason he doesn’t read the Bible very often is that it makes him feel too guilty. One must wonder if God isn’t trying to speak to Jerry about the sordid part of his life.
I have met church goers who were very proud of their younger days when they “sowed their wild oats”. I have met self-confessed Christians who had various addictions. I have worried over church people who considered it their right to act poorly toward others. There are people who go to church on Sunday to beg forgiveness from God for debauchery committed on Saturday nights. According to James 1:21, these people need to “get rid of all the filth and evil in their lives”. ALL the filth and evil, not just some.
I am reminded of a friend from my church who once said to me, “Pastor Dave, you can’t expect people to give up all the fun in their lives in order to be good Christians!” Since when is fun only aligned with moral filth or evil? Why do faithful people believe that being faithful is not enjoyable in itself?
Is there a part of your life that exhibits bad behavior or indecent morals? Is there a desire to do filthy things that you hide from others? Loving God requires that you rid your life of evil and filth. It helps to replace these with joy in studying God’s word and being in God’s presence. If you find that joy and God don’t go together very well, you probably don’t have a healthy relationship with God. If you find that filthy habits keep surfacing in your life, work your best to keep your mind and heart and soul attuned to God and God’s Word. Satan loves to bait the spiritual hook with attractive filth!