Pause Before You Speak
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I heard someone say something about another person recently. It had absolutely nothing to do with me, but I found myself grieved. As I pondered this, I realized it must be a small indication of how God feels when we say or do something unkind or slanderous. I thought about this verse:
"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires." James 1:19,20
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges for us is being "slow to speak." In an age of "instant" everything, sometimes our speech is instant too. I had that happen recently. I heard something that I was upset about, and shared it with a friend right away. A few minutes later, I realized I shouldn't have done that and needed to apologize. I think it's helpful to hit "pause" before we speak!!
These days it seems that people feel free to speak anything and everything.....from the mildest thing to the most awful thing. There are plenty of examples of people doing that, and I guess social media has given us platforms for that. But it doesn't change God's standards for our speech. He'll still hold us accountable.
"The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit." Proverbs 15:4
"Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." Colossians 4:6
"Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips." Psalm 141:3
"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1
"Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble." Proverbs 21:23
"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29
That verse is a tall order! Our speech needs to build up and impart grace. We definitely need to hit pause before we speak!
"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak." Matthew 12:36
We may think we can say whatever we think - after all, "freedom of speech" and so forth. But God is listening and we will be accountable for what we say.
There are dozens and dozens of verses in the Word about our speech. We have a lot to live up to.
I want my speech to be pleasing to the Lord. I am keeping the guideline of being "slow to speak" in the fore front of my mind!