James 1:21 Part 4—Starve the carnivores
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. James 1:21
NOTE: If you have not yet read yesterday’s blog, this entry will make more sense if you read that one first. As you read, realize that this is an analogy—it’s simply a way to represent abstract concepts with concrete images. I by no means think that this analogy using deep-ocean creatures means that there are actual fish-like creatures living within the soul. 🙂
A few years ago, the Holy Spirit led me on a “fishing expedition” into the depths of my soul to confront specific, long-standing, destructive thought patterns and to take them captive, via the Word of God, to the obedience of Christ. As I did so, He showed me an analogy using the biome of the deep-ocean floor.
The deep-ocean floor is a place where very little light penetrates and the pressure is crushing. In that realm swim creatures—carnivores—with disproportionately large mouths, jaws, and very sharp teeth. No plant-eaters live there—vegetation can’t grow there. Nutrition there comes from two sources—other deep-sea critters or whatever filters down from above. The deep-ocean floor represents the subconscious soul and the deep-ocean carnivores depict the baggage that, for whatever reason, stays attached to the soul of the believer. The surface of the ocean represents the everyday behavior and attitudes of a person—that which is visible to everyone. And the nutrition they feed upon? Bad behaviors, words, and attitude.
I asked the Lord after this experience: Is there any way to deal with the “deep-ocean carnivores” of the soul without having to plunge down to the depths? I figured there was, and sure enough, the Lord showed me something that has both revolutionized and simplified my life.
He led me to James 1:21. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. Using the same analogy, He likened my baggage—longstanding, deep-seated issues—to ravenous deep-sea carnivores in my soul. This was the filthiness and that which remained of wickedness mentioned by James.
The Lord showed me that whenever I yielded to my flesh, to unforgiveness, to self-pity—the list could go on and on—I was actually sending death and flesh down into my soul, unintentionally feeding the carnivores. The more I yielded to unwise behaviors, words, or thoughts, the more the carnivores fed. The more they fed, the stronger they grew, and the fainter the voice of my recreated spirit became.
The carnivores do not represent demons. That’s a totally different ball of wax; Christians often label sin patterns and baggage “demons”, but more often than not, carnal behaviors are merely undisciplined flesh and unresolved sin patterns. Yes, those things can open the door for demonic activity, but nonetheless, they are two different things. And the good news is this: You have authority over every bit of it.
When I read the Amplified translation of this verse, it extended the analogy. “So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness…” I visualized a rampant outgrowth of some deep-seated issue winding its way like a poisonous vine to the surface, seeking to grow in the open. And I realized then that there was no need to “deep-sea dive” as a rule; tendencies from the soul surface all the time. The trick is to confront those things as quickly as they arise and refuse to just shove them back down, patting a quick “good confession” over them in hope of covering them up.
The surfacing of such tendencies is not a cause for shame, but joy, like James wrote in verse 2. Here’s why. When the baggage and bugaboos of your soul send up shoots to the surface, that means you have the opportunity to get rid of them by laying them aside and receiving the word implanted. This is the God-ordained, one-two knockout punch you are to deliver to all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness.
The Lord very kindly showed me that the “deep-sea fishing expedition” we took together could have been absolutely avoided had I practiced throughout my Christian life this powerful one-two sequence—simply and on purpose laying aside temptations to sin whenever they arose and then receiving with meekness the Word into my soul. Instead, I cried and said “I repent” over and over and felt bad. And when that got old, I stuffed the tendencies down and covered my tracks with an appropriate “good confession”. Can you see there’s a huge difference between practicing James 1:21 and covering up negative tendencies with a quick “Praise the Lord; I’m free”?
I tested James 1:21. I started practicing laying aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, and then in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls whenever something that remained of wickedness started to surface. I even acted it out—I mimed grabbing the thought or behavior with my hand and called it by name as I swung my arm very dramatically away from me.
I would then talk to God and say, “Lord, with humility and meekness of heart, I receive that part of Your Word which is custom-made to abolish this ugly thing, and I send it down into my soul, bringing life and freedom to that region within me.” And I would wait on Him to give me a Scripture—one just right—that blew that negative emotion—whether lust, anger, self-pity, hopelessness, defensiveness, critical spirit, hurt feelings—whatever—out of the water and into oblivion.
God showed me that two things occurred as I acted on James 1:21 in faith. First, any baggage that lingered in the dark within in me was deprived of fuel as I put aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness. When I deliberately resisted and laid aside the lure of temptation, I no longer fed the “carnivores”, and as a result they grew weaker and less demanding. Secondly, as I received the Word implanted, I sent down the “pesticide” of the Word to the deep-ocean floor of my soul, and in effect, poisoned those things with God’s Word. I pictured them dying a lonely death and realized that God never intended “deep-sea expeditions” to be the primary way to deal with “carnivores”. The Lord’s chosen method for you and me to conquer filthiness and all that remains of wickedness is to simply lay it aside and receive the Word of God implanted which is able to save our souls.
One last ingredient in this one-two knockout punch of James 1:21 is found in the center of the verse. It is “with humility”, “with meekness”, and with what the Amplified Bible calls “a humble (gentle, modest) spirit” that you approach it all. It takes humility to admit that you’ve been hit with filthiness and any residual wickedness. It takes meekness to submit to the Word to address the desperate needs of your soul. And it takes a humble, gentle, and modest spirit to face those flaws honestly instead of glossing them over in an attempt to look spiritual. By maintaining a humble spirit, you address the heart of the issue and establish important “Thou shalt not’s” for yourself: No more cover ups; no more masks; and no more putting off the health and salvation of your soul.
Starve those carnivores!
Dorothy