“Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah’ – not knowing what he said.” – Luke 9:33 {ESV}
May the antennae be raised of every one of us who speak quickly and often. Peter, that well hammered anvil of example, is standing before us again with his sandal in his mouth. The mighty preacher of Pentecost is not in front of us here as the point-man of the post-resurrection church. No, today we see Peter in the dim shadow of impulsive desire as he, once again, speaks in the power of misfiring spiritual synapses. Peter was sometimes a mouth detached from a mind. When I arrive in Heaven by the glorious grace of God I intend to tell Peter that his recorded blunders helped countless Christians with the same tendencies avoid the pitfalls that he helped to expose. Peter, my friends, talked way too much.
God willing, I’ll share a message this Sunday night at Meadow about this scene in Luke 9 so my intention today is not to teach it here in the blog but, rather, to ask you to join me in a closer inspection of what comes out of our mouths and why. Perhaps the sternest counsel regarding the weakness in our words is found in James 3:1-12. A sincere study of this chapter should take down the verbal volume of your life by about ten decibels. My favorite condensed teaching on our use of words is located in Ecclesiastes 5:2 which commands,
“Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.”
Talk about an unapologetic mouth-check! I read that passage and hear the all-authoritative voice of God saying succinctly, “HUSH!”
Many of you who read this blog have a fondness for words. Readers love language and most who prioritize the act of reading give great credence to the art of communication. The Bible is the Word of God. Jesus is the Living Word. God spoke the universe into being. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the words of Christ. God has magnified His word above all His name. So much of our lives is shaped by the receiving and communicating of words that it should be no wonder that Scripture gives such attention to it. Here’s something to sober us up: In Matthew 12:36, Jesus said,
“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.”
Somewhere in glory there is a great transcript of my life’s communication. The transcript began for me on August 4, 1994 when God gave me eternal life and, therefore, accountability with all that I communicated from that point forward. He has heard every sermon I ever shouted, every prayer I ever groaned, every encouragement I ever shared and every expression of love and grace I ever sung. Frighteningly, he has recorded any lie that I ever dared to hiss. Each malicious syllable ever spoken against my fellow man is known by the One who, Himself, cried out ‘Father, forgive them!’ Any flippant speech, course jesting, judgmental decree that has ever passed from my lips is somehow and somewhere filed in Heaven. Don’t let abounding grace steal the sting out of this truth – Jesus said that there would be an accounting for me.
There will be for you also.
Let’s make a personal commitment today to wear a bridle and bit. Let’s round off the points of our tongues. This day I think it would be good to drink up the sweet water of God’s goodness and grace so that the wells of our hearts can only bring forth refreshment when we speak, pray and sing. Leave unguarded speech for fools and rogues. We are children of the King and His courts should are to be filled with praise. May our words build up those around us. May God delight in the sound of authentic praise or may He, at the least, affirm our willingness to remain silent in His holy presence if we are unsure of anything beneficial that we might say. Our words are indeed to be hammers and nails. Not for the purpose of spiking others in our incompetent judgment…but for the construction of their lives and the building of their betterment. Say something good today. Do it often and purposefully. Or, if you can, master the ability to say nothing at all for a bit. In doing so, you can prove that He is making you wise.