A few weeks ago we talked about serving others with our words. I want to revisit our use of words again but this time as it relates to us having a humble heart. Words are a powerful tool that can do a lot of good or a lot of harm in a very short period of time. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Often we combat our evil thoughts most effectively if we absolutely refuse to allow them to be expressed in words… It must be a decisive rule of every Christian fellowship that each individual is prohibited from saying much that occurs to him.” This is an issue that can be subtle at times. In the midst of a conversation going on in a group that we are a part of, do we give your input for the benefit of the whole or just to impress everyone with what we know? Are we quick to correct someone if they give wrong information? (Most of the time it is of little or no significance whether a correction is made.) When someone tells us something we already know do we smile and say thanks or do we say, “I already knew that”?
Matthew records for us in the twenty fifth chapter of the gospel he wrote, the words of Christ that will be spoken at the end of time when all nations will be gathered before Him.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’”
Matthew 25:34-36
Jesus did not say, “Your words impressed so many and My Kingdom is filled because of what you said.” He said, “I was hungry and… I was thirsty and…” Words are important. There is certainly a time to speak. Jesus Himself spoke a lot of words. But at the core of His earthly ministry, it was what Jesus did for the hurting and the rejected that spoke the loudest. Sometimes it was the absence of words that meant the most. Let’s follow His example.
Prayer: Lord, let my words be few. And may each word that I do speak tell of Your goodness and Your grace that is reaching out to all humanity. Amen
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