Digging Deeper - The Words We Use
A story is told about a person who had been a habitual gossip. He spread hurtful rumors all over town and did much harm in a nonchalant way. He decided to repent of this sin and went to the village rabbi seeking to make amends. “Rabbi, is there something I can do that will make things right?” The rabbi stroked his beard and replied, “Go home and come back with a pillow.” It seemed an odd request, but the man complied, bringing back a pillow. The rabbi then said, “Rip the pillow open.” He did and the wind blew the feathers in every direction. “Now go gather the feathers,” said the rabbi. “Come on,” the man replied, “that is impossible!” “So is making things right from your harmful rumors,” said the rabbi.
In the Psalms (34:12-13) we are told, “Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.” So, we might ask, “How do we keep our tongue from being evil?” In Hebrew “lashon hara” is the name for all types of gossip, slander, or malicious speech. We have an evil tongue if we allow it to speak out of turn in these ways. Jesus said, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45). The words we use, and how we use them, say something about the condition of our heart.
Here's the ironic thing. When we have a good heart, when we speak in helpful ways, when we are truly following Jesus and exhibiting his characteristics in our life, others will speak evil things about us. Jesus told his disciples as he sent them out, “Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and put out your name as evil because of the Son of Man” (Luke 6:22). Don’t we see that in our American culture today? The many who slander Christians because we stand for something they want no part of as they live hedonistic lives.
Lashon hara (evil tongue) extends beyond just telling lies about someone, it can include telling the truth about someone in an unnecessary and hurtful way. You’re at work after the boss messed up with his presentation, and you point out to coworkers who weren’t there how badly he did. Or the worship leader at church messed up a song, and you can’t wait to tell your friend (a new Christian) who was busy in the kids wing and didn’t experience it. “But what I said was true,” you might respond. True, but unnecessary and hurtful. Remember something called the Golden Rule? Would you want such truth told about you, when you occasionally mess up?
As I write this we are in another political season. A big election faces us. If you mention Donald Trump to a Woke person, you’ll probably hear lashon hara. Or, if you mention Kamala Harris to a right-wing conservative, you’ll probably hear lashon hara, unnecessary and hurtful words meant to put the person down without seriously discussing the merits of their actions. Can each of them be criticized? Sure, by sticking to the issues we don’t agree with, rather than name calling and unnecessary malignment.
Rexanne and I tried Pilates at the Y, an exercise program that focuses on strengthening your abdominal muscles. If you can control your abs, your core, you’ll stand straighter, breathe deeper, and have a better quality of life. It’s like that with working to control our tongues. James tells us, “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire, and the tongue is a fire, it can be a world of unrighteousness… From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. Brothers, this should not be” (James 3). If we follow Jesus, let’s work to control our speech, and honor him in so doing.
Cross Point: “We put bits into the mouth of horses, so they obey us, guiding their whole body. Look at ships also, large and driven by the wind, but guided by a small rudder” (James 3). Controlling our mouth sets our direction!
In the Psalms (34:12-13) we are told, “Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.” So, we might ask, “How do we keep our tongue from being evil?” In Hebrew “lashon hara” is the name for all types of gossip, slander, or malicious speech. We have an evil tongue if we allow it to speak out of turn in these ways. Jesus said, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45). The words we use, and how we use them, say something about the condition of our heart.
Here's the ironic thing. When we have a good heart, when we speak in helpful ways, when we are truly following Jesus and exhibiting his characteristics in our life, others will speak evil things about us. Jesus told his disciples as he sent them out, “Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and put out your name as evil because of the Son of Man” (Luke 6:22). Don’t we see that in our American culture today? The many who slander Christians because we stand for something they want no part of as they live hedonistic lives.
Lashon hara (evil tongue) extends beyond just telling lies about someone, it can include telling the truth about someone in an unnecessary and hurtful way. You’re at work after the boss messed up with his presentation, and you point out to coworkers who weren’t there how badly he did. Or the worship leader at church messed up a song, and you can’t wait to tell your friend (a new Christian) who was busy in the kids wing and didn’t experience it. “But what I said was true,” you might respond. True, but unnecessary and hurtful. Remember something called the Golden Rule? Would you want such truth told about you, when you occasionally mess up?
As I write this we are in another political season. A big election faces us. If you mention Donald Trump to a Woke person, you’ll probably hear lashon hara. Or, if you mention Kamala Harris to a right-wing conservative, you’ll probably hear lashon hara, unnecessary and hurtful words meant to put the person down without seriously discussing the merits of their actions. Can each of them be criticized? Sure, by sticking to the issues we don’t agree with, rather than name calling and unnecessary malignment.
Rexanne and I tried Pilates at the Y, an exercise program that focuses on strengthening your abdominal muscles. If you can control your abs, your core, you’ll stand straighter, breathe deeper, and have a better quality of life. It’s like that with working to control our tongues. James tells us, “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire, and the tongue is a fire, it can be a world of unrighteousness… From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. Brothers, this should not be” (James 3). If we follow Jesus, let’s work to control our speech, and honor him in so doing.
Cross Point: “We put bits into the mouth of horses, so they obey us, guiding their whole body. Look at ships also, large and driven by the wind, but guided by a small rudder” (James 3). Controlling our mouth sets our direction!
Posted in Cross Points