From one little mouth

II.      Vows of Rejection

“We renounce violence of the heart, tongue and fist, neither willing nor working harm to any”

8. I will reject violence of the tongue: I will not speak or write any curse, insult, abuse, slander, deception, falsehood, or gossip

(by Helga Weber via Flickr)

The tongue is certainly a difficult thing to manage well. We humans are curious. We like to tell ourselves that we have things under control. How quickly and easily we say something in an effort to be humorous or to put someone in their place, and then eventually wish we could inhale those same words back in because of embarrassment or regret. The notion of “control” evaporates, and we realize that our words have caused injury that can’t be ignored.

In the Bible, James knew this quite well... “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing” (James 3:10). The things we say with our mouths reveal the kind of person we are. Cruel or nasty words can come quite easily. Kind words spoken in patience are not always on the tips of our tongues. But the habits of “good speech” can be formed. It might mean responding more slowly or even remaining quiet when a flippant response would be easy. So James writes in 3:13 urging us to “show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.” Speaking good words that come from this gentleness is a skill that for most of us takes time to develop into a virtue that we do well. It does take a little bit of patience and wisdom to learn deeper patience and wisdom.

Slow Food and Fast(ing)

IV.    Vows of Voluntary Sacrifice

“We freely offer up our appetites, wealth, and pride to relieve the suffering of the world, for the sake of our neighbors and God’s joy.”

18. I will discipline my appetite for food through conscientious diet and periodic fasting, especially from meat and foods that impose exceptional burdens on God’s creation or my neighbors, and by refraining from intoxicants.

("Daily Bread" by knitting iris via Flickr)

Some may wonder what eating habits have to do with living in line with God’s shalom, but movements and cookbooks like More With Less (and now Simply in Season), alongside growing societal awareness of local, fresh, in-season, heirloom, organic, fair trade, hormone free, grass-fed, free-range, whole grain and so on, have drawn much clearer ethical lines between the things we grow, water, weed or purchase, transport, slice, cook, and ultimately put in our mouths. Much more apparent now are the interconnections of our overburdened ecosystems, links between our global, regional and local markets, and the dynamic correlation between the quality and content of our food and our daily health.

But there is more to today’s vow than simply re-connecting with our local farmers and eating fresh, tasty food or just refraining from excessive caffeine, sugars or fats for physical health sake alone. One significant, life-giving piece not prominent in the healthy and sustainable foods movements is attention to periodic fasts.  Sure, New Year’s resolutions and health magazines tout particular diets and portion control, but longstanding religious traditions—including Christian—have a distinctive contribution to make to our spiritual, physical, mental and relational health through the practice of fasting. It has been suggested that in an affluent society, fasting is a far larger sacrifice than giving a little of our money, in a consumptive culture of "more" it teaches us "enough."