A few days ago while at dinner, the task of moving the food from my plate to my mouth seemed too large of a task. It seemed simple enough: insert fork, take fork from plate, put fork into mouth, mission accomplished. Yet, somewhere along the way, the food ended up on my shirt. What seemed like a morsel of food dropped, turned into a giant spot which I’m pretty sure ruined by shirt. My first thought was, “How could something so small make such a big mess?”
Words can have the same effect. Francis de Sales, the 16th Century Swiss Bishop, had this to say about words:
“Never let an indecent word slip from you mouth. Even if you don’t mean it in an evil way, other may be offended. An evil word dropping into a weak person grows and spreads like a drop of oil on linen. It might spark a thousand unclean thoughts and temptations. If bodily poison enters through the mouth, spiritual poison enters through the ear. The tongue that speaks it is a murderer of a soul.
Don’t try to tell me you speak without thinking. Our Lord who searches our hearts says, ‘Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks’ (Matthew 12:34). Those who eat an herb called angelica have sweet breath. Those who have angelic virtues within their hearts speak sweetly.”
This week’s reading:
- Monday – Luke 21
- Tuesday – Luke 22
- Wednesday – Luke 23
- Thursday – Luke 24
- Friday – Acts 1
Please Pray for:
- Those who are grieving and depressed.
- Those who are unwillingly absent.
- Our families, homes, workplace, church, and community.
- Our nation and our leaders.
- Ongoing Building Renovations, Modifications, and Phase 3: Completion of New Youth Building and rear parking.
- The United Methodist Church.