Hearing Jesus: Watch Your Tongue
Reading: Matthew 12:33-37
“On the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter.”
Have you ever known someone who could say all the right things in public, but whose private speech left much to be desired? These are the people who tell off-color jokes or take the Lord’s name in vain when away from the public eye. Ministers often receive apologies from persons who talk this way before they discover the presence of the clergy.
In this passage, Jesus teaches two things. 1) Our careless words, not those cleaned up for public consumption, reveal our true selves. The fruit tells us whether a tree is good or bad. Speech to which we have given no thought communicates our true feelings. We often read of public figures who have been caught saying unpleasant things over a microphone they believed was dead. Our speech must be consistent.
2) We are responsible to God for all that we say, carefully prepared or thoughtlessly uttered. The Pharisees had made a terrible condemnation of Jesus. His response was to remind them that God would hold them accountable for their words. God hears all our words, not just those we say in church or in the presence of a minister.
If what we say is a revelation of our inner selves, we should daily ask God for “a clean heart and a right Spirit.” Only then will even our careless words match our inner thoughts.
For Reflection: Do I utter careless words?
Prayer Seed:
The words which from my mouth proceed,
The thoughts within my heart,
Accept, O Lord, for Thou my Rock
And my Redeemer art.
The Psalter, 1912
