"The Real You"

He who conceals hatred has lying lips. And he who spreads slander is a fool. When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable. But he who restrains his lips is wise. The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver. The heart of the wicked is worth little. The lips of the righteous feed many. But fools die for lack of understanding. (Proverbs 10:18-21 NASB).

Have you seen the television commercial that begins with a young girl asking her mother if she knows where her green blouse is? Her mom answers, “Honey, you know that’s not my style.” And, immediately the scene shifts into a flashback of the mom with some of her friends wearing the blouse and spilling something on it. The scene fast-forwards to the mom treating the blouse with the stain removing detergent and washing it. Again it fast-forwards to the daughter wearing a clean green blouse saying, “I guess it was in my closet all the time.” The mom smiles slyly and it ends.

Without dealing with the obvious dishonesty between mother and daughter, which is a completely different sermon, I think it is a telling commentary of our culture of deception. Most of the time I choose to believe that our deceptive habits are unintentional and relatively harmless. For example, when someone asks us how we’re doing, the first response is usually “great” when we may actually be much less than “great.” I know that is usually no more than an automatic conditioned response, however it is also symptomatic of a deeper issue.

There are still a few folks who remember the slogan of World War II in regard to security, “Loose lips sink ships.” The truth of that in our lives is even more emphatic when we understand the truth of our reading today. Solomon is very clear as he details the consequence of lies and slander. It is more than unwise; it brings death. In contrast, the one who can control his speech is a wonderful treasure, like silver. Further, he will bring life to many.

“Loose lips”… we have it within us to speak such blessing and grace into people’s lives, yet often we simply don’t. There are so many ways to do this. Oh, I’m not talking about a program or even a process; this is about changing our hearts to practice grace in our speech. Jesus did that. Even when his enemies were gleefully celebrating his death, he asked for their forgiveness. He returned bad for good. He took death and gave life! That’s our example to follow! It certainly is much easier to talk about than to practice, but we must start the journey if we ever hope to finish it. Where do you need to begin today? Are there those you need to speak either repentance or forgiveness to? Is there someone you need to bless in particular today? Don’t let the day slip away without doing so!