Every Idle Word

Matthew 12:36-37 "But I tell you the truth, every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it on the day of judgement. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

That's one of those verse you read and then pretend like you didn't read it so you don't have to actually do what it says, right? 

Recently a friend of mine shared that he'd been convicted of the things he says to other people and the whole time he was saying this (this was a few weeks ago) all I was thinking was Good for him. As if I don't have to be more careful about the things I say. Really I should have been feeling just as guilty as he was. But I wasn't. 

Until yesterday. 

Long story short, I said some mean things to a few people. The worst part is that I didn't even really realize they were that hurtful until I saw their reactions. The defeat in their eyes and the disbelief that I actually said what I said. 

I apologized when I had time to actually make a meaningful apology. They said they forgave me and all the other stuff that goes along with an apology. I know that God forgave me after I confessed to it to him. But I can't help but think that even though I've been forgiven, my words won't still have a negative impact. And I hate thinking that I have now become a person who could haunt the minds of another person just because of something I said. 

You grow up learning to "think before you speak." When you're a kid there are consequences from authority figures when you say something mean. You get put in Time-Out or something. But now that I'm in High School it's passed off as sarcasm or "just kidding" and there's no real consequences for what you say because it's only "sarcasm." This is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.

I think we can all say we've been hurt by sarcasm and jokes made at our expense. No one likes it when it happens to them but there's no hesitation to do it to others. I'm pretty sure that I'd start crying if someone told me what I told them yesterday. 

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So here's my point:  If I ever say something to you that hurts you in any way, don't hesitate to let me know. If you hear me saying something hurtful to someone else or about someone else, don't hesitate to let me know. 

I think everyone would benefit from just shutting up most of the time.
Words are all we have, so make them meaningful and useful for someone other than yourself. 

There are a million songs I could tell you to listen to that are about being careful of what you say. But I really can't think of any that I like enough to recommend. But if you find any interesting ones, let me know?

Much love,

Amanda <3