Words have a power all their own (Photo credit: Lynne Hand)

A word once spoken lives forever.  By our words we will be acquitted.  And by our words we will be condemned.  It is better to be mute than to speak folly with a darkened heart.  The wise man will clamp his tongue till he has weighed the value of sounds it should make.

Many will perceive such silence and pause as that of idiotic disposition.  But there is One who is witness to what is true, eternal, and holy.  His name is Jesus, the Son of the Most High God.  And worthy words, timely, carefully complete and dressed with understanding, with which we might surround that name, are always appropriate.

Thus we speak with great care regarding the ears of our brothers and sisters.  For we are keenly aware that as we treat them, even so we have treated the Lord of Life.  Contemplate how careful man is when surrendering his knees in prayer.  I am not referring to those who by their many words think they will be better heard.  A holy soul will use thoughtful care when addressing the judge who will remember and bring to bear every idle word we have uttered.

How gentle, then, should we be as we let loose that flaming sword of destruction which is housed behind fragile lips?  Better to be thought an idiot of no account than to be joined with those who give daily proof of that title.  We are reminded that the heart is the seat of all words spoken.  Therefore, as we cleanse the heart with contemplation we quench the fire of destruction it wields with delight.

Objectively, we would do well to take the following example in our mind.  We go to the sellers of clothing to dress ourselves for every occasion.  Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall are witness to our attire.  And men, whose tastes will vary, judge our visage with delightful adoration of detail.  A red sock with one that is blue brings laughter for color’s sake.  But the warmth those socks provide is no different than socks of the same mother.  We are counted fools for not observing the sensibilities of those who count themselves as judges of propriety in thread.  Their judgment, however, will leave them a dress of intolerable suffering for holding so tightly to machines invented by human eye.  For they dismiss the glory of soul in favor of the rotting corpse of flesh we all inhabit.

The same is dispensed for us to consume; that our words are so much more valuable than thread.  And if simple minded folk will judge us by the use of it, how much less can we rely on their judgment of our mindful care of eternity in the words we choose to choose use?

Where is the strength of faith the Father has given us?  Do we dare appear foolish for the sake of Holy remembrance on the Day of His final Retention?  He will divide what is true.  We are well advised to keep that moment enthroned in our hearts.  Let that king of heart dispatch our words as a ruler over servants.  Even as a tiny kingdom of its own, we will be held accountable for its intercourse with the nations of others.  So, we do well to strive to send a good report to all who inhabit lands around us.  And we consider that the alliance of wicked nations far outweighs those of the contrite.

All men dress themselves then, not for a seasonable or acceptable report from earth or men.  But we all dress ourselves with a blanket of words we have ordered our tongue to sound.  There is He who is witness to our attire in this manner.  And it is the wise who prepare our clothing to resist that most Blazing Day with ease.  May the Lord of Life bless this word to those who hunger for His Wisdom.  Amen.