August 13
Purity In Speech
What is the first vacation you remember taking with your family? For me, it was a trip to Yellowstone National Park in Montana. The sights were breathtaking and the water was crystal clear. Dad taught us how to kneel beside the clear stream, cup our hand to drink the clear water.
We just returned from a family vacation in the Colorado Rockies. Do you think I passed that lesson on to my children? Not on your life. We drank bottled water.
I wouldn’t drink water from a stream without taking extreme measures to purify it. Unfortunately, there is too much pollution in our Nation’s water supply to drink untreated water.
Poisoned water can cause stomach problems and even death in some cases. A contaminated water supply has killed the population of entire villages in some under privileged nations. It is a serious problem.
How much poison does it take to make water impure? Not much, just a trace can ruin an entire supply.
A poisonous tongue can ruin people’s reputation or cause them extreme pain. Words hurt! (see James 3:8)
It doesn’t take much gossip, cussing, or back talking to pollute our speech. Soon people will label us as “gossips,” “foul-mouthed,” or “smart-elec.” Those labels are easy to earn and almost impossible to shed.
Develop a plan to resist the temptation to gossip, use profanity or smart off. How will you handle the situation next time you are tempted? How can you use your speech to build people up instead of tearing them down?
Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).
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