The challenge with IDLE chit chat!

In the gospel of Matthew the reader finds Jesus encountering many different situations and circumstances. Time and time again He found Himself confronting, correcting, challenging, and condemning the behaviors of the very people who should have known better! I mean, to people of faith... to the religious elite of the times... to the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the religious elite of Jesus' time and the actual Hebrew word "prushim" means to be "separated", that is, one who is separated for a life of purity.

In an encounter with these famous people of his time, Jesus in the 12th chapter of the gospel of Matthew had this to say to the ones who were supposed to be considered "pure" and "righteous"...

“A tree is identified by its fruit. Make a tree good, and its fruit will be good. Make a tree bad, and its fruit will be bad. 34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 35 A good person produces good words from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil words from an evil heart. 36 And I tell you this, that you must give an account on judgment day of every idle word you speak. 37 The words you say now reflect your fate then; either you will be justified by them or you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:33-37 NLT

Now... this is a challenging piece of scripture found in the gospel of Matthew. Jesus tells the Pharisees and those gathered around Him that good words come from the person whose heart is in the right place… in a good place! That makes a lot of sense to anyone reading it for the most part. And then He says that evil or damaging words come from the heart of a person who is bent on evil or destructive patterns. That makes sense for the most part except that most of our experiences suggest that BOTH kinds of words can come from the same person.Now… here’s the deal for me as I read this section and that is I am not sure I've paid a lot of attention to verses 36-37. Jesus tells His listeners and anyone who is reading it today that one day our words that we say each day as we walk on this planet will be tested based upon their intent. Jesus tells us that our words will reflect our fate on that glorious and ominous day when we stand before God! WOW!

You know... the Greek word used for “idle” in this section of Matthew's gospel is the word “argos” which means “free from labor, at leisure… or to be lazy, shunning the labor which one ought to perform.” It is often translated “careless” which is a good fit in this context as well.

Now... either way you slice... or translate it... these two verses make me wonder just how many times a day I utter a “careless” word or two? It is so easy to do that and to think very little about it but Jesus warns us to not take the words we speak so lightly! He challenges the Pharisees and each one of us to understand that in many respects there is no such thing as an "idle" word... they all add up in the long run and they wind up reflecting on the one who speaks them.

In this scripture Jesus challenges us to be more careful with our words each day. He also challenges us to consider the “INTENT” of our hearts when we do carelessly speak out... when we speak without thinking! In this passage Jesus challenges each one of us… me included… to take care with the words we choose!

In the Old Testament Solomon echoed these same thoughts when he once said in the book of Proverbs…

“Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.” Proverbs 17:28 NIV

Much later on... Abraham Lincoln… a man familiar with the Word of God later rephrased this… or maybe I should say he paraphrased it… when he said it is…

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” Abraham Lincoln

In this section of the gospel of Matthew... in this encounter Jesus challenges us to remember to watch the intent of our hearts and our words! When it comes to our words that we use... just maybe... there is no such thing as "idle" chit chat! And maybe just maybe... it is important to remain silent instead of speaking without thinking!

Till we connect again,
Rev Trev