December 30, 2002
TOGETHER:
May words reflect a clean heart
___A good prayer for us all to pray as we approach the New Year is, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14). There is no way to measure both the good and the bad that words can do. But let us consider:
___Words can encourage (put heart into someone), or discourage (cut the heart out of someone).
___Words can bless or condemn.
___Words can embarrass or delight.
___Words can praise or shame.
___Words can save or shun.
___Words can include or exclude.
___Words can be life-givers or death-dealers.
___Words can be truth-tellers or deceivers and liars.
CHARLES WADE
Executive Director
BGCT Executive Board
___But words come from somewhere. Jesus said they come from the heart. "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34ff; 15:11ff.).
___Every one of us can learn from Sen. Trent Lott's experience in recent weeks. One commentator said, "His whole life caught up with him in that remark." Is it possible that anyone who experienced or has read about the shameful abuse of African-Americans in our history could really say America would be better if we had honored the platform of the Dixiecrats and elected Strom Thurmond in 1948?
___This is not about being politically correct in our speech. This is about what is in our hearts. James notes in his epistle (3:1-12) that the tongue can get us in a lot of trouble, but the real problem is in the heart. "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?" (James 3:9-11).
___God wants to transform our hearts so that years of prejudice and bitterness and ill will can be swallowed up in the gracious and sacrificial love of our Lord. If we try to curb ugliness in our language by simply trying to know what is the latest correct way to talk, or by talking one way in church or in public and another way with trusted friends, it will come out. The ugliness we pampered and refused to confront will spill out in the most public and embarrassing ways. It is best to ask God to begin to deal with our hearts in regard to how we really feel about people--the poor, the rich, other races, the immigrant, the educated, the uneducated, people of other religious convictions and those who live in totally different ways than we know to be right.
___It is right to have strong moral convictions about what is right to do and wrong to do. Christians should not consort with those who live in ungodly ways. But Jesus did not shut those who needed him out of his life. He loved those whom others judged, and he loved those who did not love him. For those who decided to follow him, however, he had very high expectations. He expected them to love one another and to love others as he loved them. He had the strongest words for those who insisted on judging and did not get around to loving.
___"O God, test my heart and see if there is any wicked thing there. Cleanse all that is evil or petty. Help my heart be right and my words in harmony with my heart."
___We are loved.
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