A World of Unrighteousness
What behaviors come to mind when you think of an unrighteous man? What habitual behaviors might lead you to believe that someone is not a Christian? I'm sure we can all think of a few, and many of them are included in the following list:
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Cor. 6:9-11, my emphasis)
We Christians are known for our outspoken opposition to many of the behaviors in that list. But there is one I have yet to hear Christians protest against. It is the sin of reviling:
Revile:
–verb (used with object)
1. to assail with contemptuous or opprobrious language; address or speak of abusively.
–verb (used without object)
2. to speak abusively.*
Synonyms [partial list]: abuse, vilify, vituperate, berate, disparage.**
Sadly, reviling has become characteristic of American culture. Reviling has taken over our rhetoric. It dominates our blogs, our social media posts, our YouTube videos, our debates, our comment threads, much of our humor and entertainment, and most of what passes for our news media. Our ears itch to hear our opponents mocked, disparaged, abused, berated, and vilified. Like the gladiator matches of ancient days, abusive speech makes our hearts pound with excitement while it deafens our ears to the cries of the gentle. It hardens our hearts and turns us into bullies, or it bullies us into subjection or silence.
I wish I could say I was speaking only of the culture of the "world," but the truth is, reviling has permeated "Christian" culture and discourse as well. It's a smack-down world and we want smack-down leaders who can take down our opposition with verve and with flourish. In a world of bullies we want bullies of our own to lead us, to make us feel safe, secure, and superior. Don't tread on us; we'll take you down!
But the apostle Paul lists revilers among those who will not inherit the kingdom of God. The warning from James is likewise dire:
And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell . . . It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:6, 8-10, my emphasis)
Regardless of doctrinal or political stances, and regardless of sinfulness, every human still bears the imprint of the image of God (Gen 9:6). We cannot claim to love God while we revile people he created in his image. On the contrary, the Savior calls us to: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, (Luke 6:27), to bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them (Romans 12:14). These are hard words, impossible really, unless we remember that this is exactly what Christ has done for us. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us . . . while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Rom. 5:8,10).
God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son, not to condemn the world—not to fill it with reviling, insults, and mockery, but to save it (see John 3:16-17). Christians, this is the heart that saved us. This love that God poured out on us while we were busy hating and reviling him, is the same love he is calling us to reveal to this angry, reviling, fearful, lost, and dying world. But we cannot do this if our own mouths (or our social media feeds) are themselves “a world of unrighteousness,” spilling out blessing alongside cursing, and reviling.
Has your tongue become “a world of unrighteousness”? Pour out your heart to Christ today. Repent, drink in his mercy and grace afresh, and let that blessing pour out fresh and untainted to the world he came to save.
(I wrote the original draft of this article well over decade ago. Any resemblance to our current circumstances stands as proof that fallen human nature has not changed. I pray that we who name the name of Christ will be the exception to this rule.)
*Definition courtesy of Dictionary.com
**Synonyms courtesy of Thesaurus.com
