Oh Be Careful Little Children What You Say!

The other day I was driving behind a car that had a good deal of smoke coming out of his exhaust pipes. Along with the smoke came a smell of burning oil. It stunk, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t roll down the windows because the smoke was out there too. (Not to mention that it was only 8 degrees outside!) I wanted to pass him, but the traffic wouldn’t allow it.

As he was approaching a traffic light, the light turned yellow, so he hit the gas. A cloud of smoke came out so thick that I lost sight of him. It must have been a smoke screen he used to disappear from people. Since there wasn’t much wind the smoke and stench hung there. I was so glad when the light changed and I could drive out of the cloud. But you could smell him still. His car was leaving this fetid trail wherever he went.

Some people are like that. Their mouths spew a smelly cloud wherever they go. Their speech is filled with hurt, anger, blame and it is noxious trail they leave behind. Words that hurt. Words that tear down. Words that condemn and have no mercy.

I’ve heard people say some truly hurtful things and when questioned about it they say, “Well, I’m just saying it how it is. It’s the truth and I’m sorry if the truth hurts.”

We are to speak the truth. But we are to speak the truth in love. And that is very different from speaking the truth to hurt someone. And it is easy to tell when our words don’t have love attached to them.

Paul said to the church in Ephesus, “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another. In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. . . . You must let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of the one in need, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

Whenever we speak out of anger, we give the devil a foothold. Jesus said, “What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth, it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person.”

Our speech is important. It shows what is in our hearts. If we claim to have love, mercy and compassion in our hearts, this must be what comes out of our mouth.

Yes we speak the truth. But it must be in love. If it’s not . . . well, think about it!