A Few Words

Recently I was caught in my words. It’s one of the worst feelings, to have to retrace what you say, scrambling to justify yourself after a slippery comment. Was it the evil of the words that tumbled from my unguarded lips, or was it the look of reprimand from my friend? I am more inclined to treasure my pride than I am to hate evil. I think it was the exposure of my faults rather than the fault itself that ran crimson red across my face. 

This will be a short blog, I don’t want to criticize another for not being careful with their words while I myself use a surplus of them. 

Words, those stony edifices of human arrogance. With them we construct arguments so impenetrable that no mercy could infiltrate, nor could regret persuade retreat. We weaponize our feelings and opinions, making sure everything is said in just the right way so that the impact is most destructive, brewing for hours the foamy hot poison so that its effect is death. Yes, words are very important to us, they are the vessels of our feelings and the expressions of our souls. But if your tongue is the faucet then doesn’t the well the water comes from hold more value? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. And if the water which comes from that source is unclean, then so is the overflow. And all because we care more for the eloquence of our flesh than the soul standing in front of us. We care more about saying just the right thing than the person we are saying it to. 

I want to encourage you, dear friend, to watch your words. Prioritize love rather than eloquence, and listening in silence rather than speaking in ignorance. It is our own souls that are really effected by ugly words, and in the end we are the ones who will be held accountable for every stray sentence and hasty judgement. So as you speak, remember who you are. Remember that you are a member of the family of God. Remember that your words have authority to drive out demons and heal bodies. Remember that they are a product of your heart, which is the very dwelling place of God. Do not be more concerned with the consequences of hasty words than the cruelty of the words themselves. And when you are inevitably caught in tangled misinterpretations, do not seek to justify yourself, because words have a habit of multiplying. Glorify God in everything. And that is all.