James 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Mat 12:36-37 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
My sister and I had the unique experience of being pregnant with our first children at the same time. It has been a blessing, but we had a rough start.
“So what would you say if I told you I was pregnant?” Crystal asks.
“Well then I would say you are stupid.” I replied. Silence.
That was how it began. At the time my sister was in college, not married, nor even trying to have a child. I thought she was joking at the time. She wasn’t. That statement was made not knowing the huge burden she was carrying and it hurt. Now I apologized profusely as you can imagine once I found out in fact she was, but those words can never be recaptured, and it set the tone for our experience together. I found out about a week later that I was pregnant also, to which my mom responded, “I should have known with the two of you, if one is up to something, the other is too.” At the time I thought my sister was joking and what I said was a simple response, I didn’t give it much thought, but it is something I will never forget and something she might not either. It will forever be a part of the memories we have of an event to be treasured. The Bible has something to say about idle words (those words being inactive, lazy, or useless) in Matthew 12:36, it says we will give account for them. It goes on to say in verse 37 that by our words we will be justified or condemned. James 3:8 reminds us that the tongue is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. What I said that day was hurtful, I didn’t intend for it to be and had no idea the implications those words would have. Nevertheless those poorly considered words not only hurt someone I love they robbed me of the opportunity to help and heal.
