Spoken Words Shattered Examples

A few years ago I attended a funeral visitation for a family member of a friend. There were many people coming and going. I was standing near a young couple who weren't aware I was there. I listened as they made a caustic comment when a minister walked in. Apparently he had not arrived as soon as this couple thought he should have. No sooner were the words out of the mouth, when the speaker realized I was standing there. They quickly tried to cover the sarcasm that was in that remark.

My first reaction was a touch of anger, indignation, and I am sure my response made it clear I had caught the harshness of the remark. That minister was not their pastor, or the pastor of the deceased, or even of the family, but was a friend of the extended family. Yet he made time to be there. No one knew what responsibilities delayed him. I am not sure it would have mattered.

I have thought about that incident many times since. Although the reactions of these two individuals were not representative of the Christian lives they normally display, I find it is all too common among the body of Christ. I, myself, am just as guilty as they of speaking before thinking. It seems I practice "Open mouth, insert foot" far too often. The old man seems to fight to rise up in us even though Christ died to defeat him. While making every effort to be loving to the unsaved, Christians can be quite unkind to each other. We expect perfection from spiritual leaders when there will never be perfection on this earth. Sometimes jealousy of a successful work for God rears its ugly head. We expect our Christian friends to never offend, whether intentional or unintentional. It is reactions like these that cause nonbelievers to shake their heads and say, "See what I mean?" We are guilty, Sisters and Brothers, of letting our personal likes and dislike overrule the love we are commanded to have for the Brethren. Personalities will sometimes clash, but this should never hold precedence over our love for each other.

Our time on this earth is short. Do we really want to spend it harboring buried hurts or bickering with each other over the unimportant? Much time and Scripture was dedicated to addressing this very thing. If God felt it was important enough to warn us in Scripture, He will not hold us unaccountable.