Wild Fire or Controlled Burn

I like Meryl Streep’s beginning line in the movie Out Of Africa: “I had a farm in Africa.” I even try to speak like her character when I say, “I have a tree farm in Mineola.” Somehow it just doesn’t sound as dramatic. And it’s not. Tree farming is not exhausting work. You’ve heard people say, “That’s as boring as watching a tree grow.” Well tree farming is booooring.

            All one has to do is plant the trees and leave them alone and let them grow. There are very few things to be anxious about when it comes to tree farming. The major concern is fire. You’ve seen what a lightning strike or a careless camper can do to miles of forest and inhabited land in California during dry seasons. Wild fires devastate everything they touch. These fires can destroy millions of dollars’ worth of property and can even claim lives. And you’ve seen on TV just how fast the destruction can be.

            This spring I was told that the tree farm may need to have what the forestry department calls a controlled burn. A fire is intentionally started and is allowed to burn only the underbrush and weeds but not the trees. It is supposed to help the trees grow better but it has to be carefully controlled.

            Believe it or not the Bible has something to say about wild fires and controlled burns. James 3:6 says, “See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire by hell.”

            Those unkind or thoughtless words we say strike like lightening causing wild fires destroying lives and putting things in disorder. Those kinds of words are sin and wrong. They’re crippling and deforming. They can get unsuspecting people off track spiritually. Sometimes they are an irremovable charred area in someone’s life. The speaker of those wild words can be in danger too. That speaker is in a direct path to be used by hell’s forces.

            Whew, that makes me want to keep my mouth shut. But I also know the Holy Spirit is sometimes symbolized by fire. Acts 2:1-4 recounts that the Holy Spirit came visibly to the disciples as tongues of fire.  John the Baptist predicted that the Holy Spirit will baptize with fire that will burn up the chaff (unusable weeds) in Matthew 3:11-12. He is our controlled burn. He burns away the choking weeds of sin in our lives so that we can flourish and spread the Gospel with words of blessing. He controls our words with His convicting reminders; if we listen, that is.

            I just pray, “Heavenly Father, shut my mouth when it needs to be shut and open it when it needs to be opened. Lord, perform a controlled burn on my mouth so that out of it comes only what you want said. Don’t let me start wild fires with my words.”

And, finally, here’s a reminder from a famous bear, Smokey Bear.

“Only you can prevent wild fires!”

Amen.