by David Brenneman
"Who is the man who desires life And loves length of days that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against evildoers, To cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the Lord hears And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all." Psalms 34:12-19.
"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." Ephesians 4:29-32.
"You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:34-37.
Careless words, intentional words.
Careless thoughts, intentional thoughts.
How well do you weigh your words?
How well do you weigh the thoughts and intentions of your heart?
Do you excuse your bad behavior in light of social circumstances and conversations?
Put it more pointedly...do you deceive yourself in thinking that "it was only in fun! Nobody got hurt!"?
In recent weeks I have seen the huge burden of even online social media harassment and bullying to adults on Facebook. What shouldn't be happening in what amounts to a page only repeating what is found on a police and fire emergency channel in typed form is happening.
I can and probably always will lose my "cool" in the face of bullying. I truthfully and honestly cannot trust myself to control myself in those situations. It takes everything within me to restrain my words and actions from going further than required to spare in a situation such as that. It's never gone that far but I can easily see how a person can go full blown Terminator on a bully.
That kind of situation is a difficult one to navigate when emotions are the fuel. Add to this the accountability before Jesus for those actions.
Let's downgrade the intensity a few notches. The words exchanged at a game. One side versus another. Trash talk happens. In some cases true rage breaks out and people get physical.
Let's lower it a few more. Supposed harmless slurs on one another as a "game". Cut downs they used to call them. Just in fun! Is the excuse given to justify what was said.
"But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment."
"You're kidding, right? God's going to hold that against me? It was hilarious!"
Jesus said it...so yes...He will.
My Dear Reader...there's much said in the Bible about the tongue and its dangers.
"But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?" James 3:8-11.
The Disciples were taught to follow Jesus. To learn His ways, which were in how to truly live life among men and women. None of them aside from Judas Iscariot missed the lessons on how their lives should always reflect Christ to the world. They didn't live two lives. They didn't have times to "cut loose". They took the training and teachings of Jesus completely seriously.
The very thought that some day they would give an account of their lives before Jesus was ever present on their minds.
The world is who proclaims that "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" and lie all the life-long day concerning this.
It's a sad confession but I fell in elementary school to becoming a bully for an extremely short period of time. God brought a swift end to it and a very pointed reminder for the rest of my life never to cross that line again. It was peer pressure that brought that situation about but it was still no excuse. In my subsequent restraint from such things I became the bullied. Throughout much of my remaining time in public education this was my lot in daily life.
Every careless word.
Every careless thought.
"We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete." 2 Corinthians 10:5-6.
I was convicted in that moment of what I shouldn't be doing.
Later on in life I was likewise convicted concerning my words and actions with sports teams. My experience with this was never a good thing most of the time. This passage hung over me and won out over any desire to participate in such activities.
There's no excuse acceptable for our mistreatment of others when everything we say, do, think, is available to be seen in every moment of our lives before Jesus.
I assure you that whatever "joy" or "happiness" you might get in those moments will be turned to shame and regret before Jesus when you are completely aware that He isn't laughing.
Take it potentially further. As Children of God...what if your spur of the moment actions cause Him to cry? Hmm? Ever think about that?
The lives of the Disciples were being taught to mirror the life of Jesus Christ. The old saying concerning Disciples of that day was "may you be covered in the dust of your Master". Follow the life, love, perseverance and gentleness of your Master so closely that your thoughts and actions are so exactly the same that people can't tell you apart.
Someone once said that even a bad example is a good example.
People wonder why I don't participate in lots of social activities. Many times I have not the emotional energy to expend in those settings. Many times I am trying to measure what might happen that I understand to either set me up for failure in caving in to careless thoughts and intentions or doing what's right in the sight of God.
I have learned to take things that seriously because I am hoping to live life in a way that my Savior approves of.
The Disciples didn't take vacation days or PTO days away from learning how to live a life approved by Jesus. They didn't stop to go do this or that just for fun. There were no commercial breaks to do other things that had nothing to do with being a Disciple of Jesus Christ.
"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." Matthew 16:25.
Our views on our interactions with others should reflect Christ.
Our views on what's best for our lives should only come from a right relationship with Jesus.
Our thoughts and intentions, actions as well, we will give an account of before Jesus.
We can often be careless in hurting others without even noticing it.
Be bold. Ask Jesus to show you what needs to change in your life.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way." Psalms 139:23-24.
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4:8-9.
Really think about your thinking.
Really consider your actions and intentions.
Spring is coming. Cleanse not only your house but your heart.
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
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