Once upon a time I overheard a conversation between two "church" women at a restaurant. Let's call them Pearl and Vivian. Pearl declared, "Well that's my gossip for today." But the conversation continued and soon she announced, "He's not a very good deacon. He shouldn't be on the board." If I could hear this conversation in a crowded restaurant so could several others.
My immediate thought was, "And she is not a safe person. This is not a woman you can trust."
It made me think of how easy it is for us to criticize others. We are so quick to ignore the warnings of Scripture to STOP gossiping, and yet it is so dangerous to the Body! It is easy to make a "humorous" comment at the expense of another.
One of the prayers we may hear in church before the sermon is, "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord." I'm thinking we should all pray that prayer a whole lot more! How often do we drop a comment, make a judgment, call into question someone's character, say things that tear down, rather than build up?
I wonder if there are people who have heard me say things that make them cringe and think, "She is not a safe person. I can't trust her." This conversation made me recommit to being the kind of person others feel is safe, and they can trust. Conversations...words...comments are so slippery. They have a way of slipping out without us meaning to let them go, which is why making sure our hearts are meditating on the right things is even more important.
Ps 34:13 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.
I think we would be amazed if we knew the impact our words have on others and the kingdom.
Lord, let the words that come from my mouth bless others and glorify you. So be it!
My immediate thought was, "And she is not a safe person. This is not a woman you can trust."
It made me think of how easy it is for us to criticize others. We are so quick to ignore the warnings of Scripture to STOP gossiping, and yet it is so dangerous to the Body! It is easy to make a "humorous" comment at the expense of another.
One of the prayers we may hear in church before the sermon is, "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord." I'm thinking we should all pray that prayer a whole lot more! How often do we drop a comment, make a judgment, call into question someone's character, say things that tear down, rather than build up?
I wonder if there are people who have heard me say things that make them cringe and think, "She is not a safe person. I can't trust her." This conversation made me recommit to being the kind of person others feel is safe, and they can trust. Conversations...words...comments are so slippery. They have a way of slipping out without us meaning to let them go, which is why making sure our hearts are meditating on the right things is even more important.
Ps 34:13 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.
I think we would be amazed if we knew the impact our words have on others and the kingdom.
Lord, let the words that come from my mouth bless others and glorify you. So be it!
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