Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Taking What People Say With A Grain of Salt

Scripture Verse that caught my attention today: Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 Do not give heed to everything that people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you; 22 your heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others.

Observation: Sometimes it’s good to take what people say with a grain of salt…that includes what we say too!

Application: Years ago I was invited to a little clergy cookout at the home of the pastor of a non-denominational church. I was impressed with the beautiful backyard and, in the process of trying to compliment the owners, I mentioned that if they ever wanted to sell the place, I would be interested.

As soon as the words left my lips I thought to myself, that’s only half-true. I was impressed with the property to be sure. But it really wasn’t the type of home and property that we would ever be likely to seriously consider, even if we did have the means (which we didn’t!). A more accurate (albeit horribly tacky!) statement would have been, “Your property is lovely, but I wouldn’t want to live here even if I could afford it.”

Wouldn’t it have been much better if I had simply said, “Your property is lovely” and left it at that? But the point is that, as human beings, we often say things that we really don’t mean. Or we say things that we do mean at the time, but might not mean later. Sometimes we say things we don’t mean at a time of anger. Other times we say things we really don’t mean at a time of great joy (like the drunken guy at a bar that shouts “And I’ll buy another round for the house!”).

I’ve learned that the same is sometimes true in the church. Sometimes it’s good to take what people say with a grain of salt. It’s also good to give thanks for those who are kind enough to do the same for us. Otherwise I might be the owner of a house I never really wanted!

Prayer: Lord, I could ask you to guard the words of my lips more carefully, and sometimes I wish you would. But for now I’m simply thankful that you’re able to use the words that I utter that are useful and ignore those that would have been better left unsaid. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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