Good morning on this Saturday, June 26th. All of us have watched with interest this week as a drama played out in Afghanistan and Washington D.C. involving General Stanley McChrystal, who was the architect and commander of our war effort in Afghanistan. General McChrystal granted a series of interviews with himself and members of his staff to a reporter from the magazine Rolling Stone. The reporter spent many days with the general and his team and was given almost unfettered access. The final article appeared in the magazine this week and in it are many quotes about various government officials overseeing or involved in the war effort. The series of quotes are often derogatory and disparaging toward many government officials mentioned in the piece. General McChrystal was summoned to Washington to meet with President Obama and immediately tendered his resignation under threat of being fired. Again and again media people are questioning why the General and his people would share so many private personal opinions with a reporter and be so careless with their tongues. Clearly this whole episode illustrates the Bible's wise counsel regarding the power of the tongue and the consequences when it is not properly controlled. Proverbs 21:23 warns the tongue can be a source of trouble, Proverbs 15:2 tells us that a wise tongue uses knowledge aright, James 1:19 cautions us to be quick to hear but slow to speak, Proverbs 18:21 reminds us that life and death are in the power of the tongue and reminds us that the tongue must be controlled. If General McChrystal had heeded these verses, he would still have his command!
Tomorrow's sermon is the final message of the Prophecy Update 2010 series. I hope you can make it.
Mel Brown