“Don’t let your mouth write a check your butt can’t cash,”
is a slang expression that sort of translates into, keep talking trash and you
just might get your butt kicked! But it can very well apply to how we live
spiritually too.
Our ‘words’ have so much power in them—they hold the key to
life and to death. Yet, we often use them without thought to their end result,
especially in social media settings.
A mouth filter is a good characteristic to process. Why?
Because being able to filter our words can mean the difference between wounding
someone deeply or helping to heal a wounded soul.
Over the years, writing has helped me to meditate on my
words and not be so quick to push, “send”! But I wasn’t always that way. No,
I could fly off the handle in a minute with my words! Piss me off or make me
feel attacked, and I would more than likely give it back to you! Why? That was
how I was treated as a child. My mother was a very unhappy woman and she had no
filter whatsoever when it came to the feelings of others. Truth is, most times
she was very cruel in her words. She hardly ever used any type of profanity,
yet her words were razor blade sharp and cut to the core.
My defense would often come in the form of profanity. I too
could be mean spirited in the things I said to others. At the time, I felt I
was better than my mother, because you had to do something to me to encounter
my wrath! But the truth—I was often just as callous as she was.
What changed?
The love of Chris, and the healing of old hurts, and the
banishment of low self-esteem.
No, it didn’t happen overnight and there are times I still
struggle with “what to say” and “what not to say”. But it is nothing like it
used to be, and that is why I am sad and often distressed with what I see some
of us (sisters-in-Christ) doing on Facebook and other social media genres to
each other. It just shouldn’t be.
Just a little note of warning to all of you who love to
complain and whine about your life and others on Facebook—stop it!! Not only
are you inadvertently talking smack about God as you whine and complain, your
words are writing a check your butt can’t cash. How? They are tearing down your
faith, planting seeds that will become weeds, and only keep you focused on the negative.
And last but not least—you are causing others to stumble.
And for the sisters who know everything and must get your
point across—no matter what. Stop that! Why? Because you are tearing others
down with your “know it all” attitude and words.
What motivates us to have to have the last word and or make
sure others see it our way? PRIDE! And since “pride” in a Believer is something
God hates and talks about consistently throughout the Bible, it only stands to
reason that words, stemmed from a root of pride, have nothing good in them. The
check we write on pride usually always leads to conflict, confusion, hurt
feelings and separation.
If you were to attend a gathering and the only person you
knew was the sister who had invited you, would you feel comfortable enough to
just say anything you felt like to anyone who was there? “No!” And why? Because
for one, most of us are smart enough to know, that things may not turn out so
well for us. We might get cussed out or even punched in the face, depending on
what we did or said. But on Facebook, even though we don’t know most of the
people who are friends of a friend, we still feel the need to argue and accost people
because we disagree or think we know better. You don’t know these people—you don’t
know their back story and what type of damage your words could be doing. Stop
and think, “If I were face-to-face with this person would I have the courage to
say this too them? Would my words build them up and be profitable?”
God also talks about how He hates when we cause confusion
(with our words) amongst the brethren! And just in case you didn’t get my
drift, I’m talking about the gossiper. Yup!!!
See sisters, we can’t really expect things to turn around
for us in our lives, when we consistently use our words to plant seeds of hurt,
discouragement, and shame. God’s spiritual laws of sowing and reaping are set,
and what we sow is what we reap. I don’t care how much money you tithe and give
in church, and proclaim that you are looking for checks in the mail and new
jobs and blah, blah, blah! If you are sowing seeds of death to others, that shall
be your harvest. If you complain and whine about your life all the time—it will
stay the same!
Paul tells us in Ephesians (AMP), that “LOVE energizes our faith!”
So, when we are tearing down others with our words versus encouraging them—we
are not walking in love. If we are one who thinks we have the right to say what
we think and feel (without a filter) to others—we are being loveless. When we
complain all the time to others, yet profess to be a disciple of Christ, they never
see the love of Christ through us.
Anytime our words are loosely used without regard to the
feelings or end result to others, we are writing checks that most likely our
butts can’t cash. And I say that because the end result and consequences we may
pay for our actions are usually much harder to endure then we ever thought they
would be.
No comments:
Post a Comment