This played out again very publicly when Mel Gibson , a great actor and director but one who is in deep spiritual mess , was recorded secretly by his mistress or soon to ex-mistress , over what is becoming a dirty custody battle. Needless to say the comments made were full of hate . They were aimed to destroy and harm . Apparently he didn't know he was being taped. If he did I'm sure he would have showed much more restraint .
So as the world hurled judgments against his comments , I was reminded not only how the tongue is as James said ,"a world of unrighteousness." I was also thinking about another tape recorder . That is running 24/7 . It never runs out of batteries ,doesn't record just pieces of conversation but 100% of each and every word and thoughts.
[36] I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, [37] for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
(Matthew 12:36-37 ESV)
God is watching . He is omniscient,meaning He is everywhere . No place can we go and His presence not be present. For the believer of course the Holy Spirit indwells , thats why it is so grievous to Him when we sin. But even for the unbeliever, He is present. He was there when Gibson went ballistic and He is there when each one of us said things we should never have uttered. Who among us has not cringed after saying something when we should have held our tongue. We condemn ,curse , gossip,lie,boast,manipulate and tear down .
It should shake us out of our slumber. So what kind of speech are we known for . May be trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to tame our tongues. May we trust in Christ to cleanse our hearts , so it will be reflected in our speech.
[11] Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
(1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV)
May our speech mirror this command . You have hard the old saying sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me. But that is not true . Words carry weight . They have started revolutions,sparked a reformation and to the glory of God , carry the gospel of Christ to a lost sinner . Words like Gibson's uttered not only hurt the other person but ultimately hurt him as well . They showed a troubled heart . If we show the same, there is only one place to go and that is to our knees and repent . May our cry be with Isaiah , I'm a man with unclean lips and pray God will clean our hearts , giving us mouths of grace and righteousness that glorify Him .
1 comment:
I feel really sorry for Mel Gibson and his family. By the time he calmed down, he probably thought, "Great, being taped being an idiot, again." How many hurtful, mean and spiteful things have we said, both in the heat of the moment and not, and were glad we didn't get caught? Before you start to think, "Oh, I wouldn't have said something like that." Probably not, but God says, "You shalt not bear false witness against your neighbour." Exodus 20:16. It made the Top 10 (Commandments), even though we like to think it's not as sinful as the rest. But, Roman 1:29 includes gossiping in the same sentence as murder. Read to the end of the chapter. Trust me, it's hard to feel self-righteous, after that. Love you, Mrs Reg
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