It is the time of year that we will start hearing Christmas tunes 24/7. While the message of Jesus will be blaring all around the world, there are still those who claim Jesus and yet don’t seem to walk in the ways He has called us to. They claim to be religious, but certainly don’t live up to the standard He desire for us. James writes about “pure and undefiled” religion and while the term “religion” doesn’t carry with it a very popular connotation today, and it probably didn’t then either. There were a lot of religious people, including Jews and Gentiles. They simply claimed to be religious and simply put on a show. So what revealed “pure and undefiled religion” (James 1:27)? Care for the Helpless. This seems to be a strange place to start in some way, but if you examine the life of Jesus it becomes abundantly clear that it was the focal point of His ministry. James specifically mentions the fatherless and widows but if you take the time to examine who among the early Roman and Jewish culture would find themselves most at risk, these two groups would be near the top of the list. The further importance of this is indicated in the words “in their distress” (ie, affliction). They endured much and those claiming religion derived from the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ would be willing to help these individuals and others who had “pressing needs” (Matthew 25:31-46; Titus 3:14). Remain Unstained While the first thought in James 1:27 had to do with helping others, the other addresses keeping ourselves from things that would hurt our spiritual walk with Christ. Those things often create more turmoil in our physical life as well. In many of Paul’s letters he addresses the idea of sexual purity. He reminds the church in Rome we have been called to present our bodies as instruments of righteousness rather than giving into the unrighteousness of the world (Romans 6:12,13). He reminds the church at Corinth that Christ gave His life to purchase us so that we would glorify God in our lives (1 Corinthians 6:15-20). In several of the other letters he simply encourages the churches to put to death sexual immorality so that the fruit of God’s righteousness can grow in their lives (Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:3-5; Colossians 3:5-7). Control Your Words. To be fair this thought isn’t found in James 1:27, but it is important not to just pull one Scripture out of context. It is hard to separate this from vs. 26 which says, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” So, without controlling one’s tongue any religion would be worthless. Now, there are several areas where Christians need to have self control with the tongue. For instance, James encourages us to be “slow to speak” when we might be tempted to react in anger (1:19-20). He also discourages us from speaking evil of those who have been made in the image of God (3:9-10). Also, as teachers of the gospel we must be careful what we teach others and the consistency of our words (3:1-5). Paul encourages us to speak words that are only good for building up rather than tearing down (Ephesians 4:29). As much of the world thinks of drawing near to God, let us all consider how we can come with purity and without being defiled. That requires our heart, our actions, and our words to be given over to the Lord (2 Corinthians 9:15).