May the mumbling commence!
Sticks and stones may break our bones but words can maim and scar. Yes, our words are important. They tell a lot about us. Read from Matthew chapter twelve:
"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." (Verses 33-37)
Our words are the first fruits of our heart condition. They reveal our attitude. Out of the overflow of our attitude, our agenda, and our prejudice our words flow. Be careful what you say! It reveals more about you than you realize.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “Remain quiet and be thought a fool, or open your mouth and remove all doubt.” If we cultivate good things in our hearts, good thoughts and words will result. If we cultivate bad things in our hearts, our words will be bad – venomous to ourselves and other people. Whichever side – good or bad – we feed the most is the side that will win.
And there will be a day of reckoning. You and I will have to give account for every careless and thoughtless word we have spoken. I don’t know about you, but that thought makes me blanch! I am glad that I claim Jesus as my Savior and Intercessor. My words can either acquit me or condemn me.
Just think about all the words we say in the heat of anger to those people we claim to love the most. Be sure to mend the bridges of your relationships. Remember that our relationship with God is intricately woven into our relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ and with our neighbors.
Today, I am reminded about some words that I spoke to a nephew and niece quite a few years ago. I was getting ready to go to a Wednesday evening Bible study. My nephew and niece asked why I was going. I told them, “I have nothing better to do.”
The words were out before I even knew it. Open mouth; insert both feet. Then, as I thought about it later, there was truth in my rash words. I hope that my nephew and niece saw that truth rather than my jovial manner. There is nothing better to do than study the Word of God – and put into practice in my life. Otherwise, it is all too easy to return to old and destructive habits. Jesus talks about this fact later in Matthew chapter twelve:
"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation." (Verses 43-45)
May we occupy our lives with godly things so that there is no room for our old habits to return. There is nothing wrong with a house swept clean and put in order – as long as new constructive and godly habits replace the old destructive ones. Otherwise, when we boomerang back into old habits, we may find ourselves deeper in trouble than when we first began. It is kind of like the yo-yo diet. Each time the yo-yo sinks lower and lower.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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