Being in the public spotlight is not always a very comfortable place to find ourselves, and this can be especially true when a hot microphone is involved.  When a politician, celebrity, or some other notable person is caught unaware that a microphone is live and cameras are rolling, this is not a good time to share a comment that is thought to be private.  Some of the most memorable and embarrassing comments have been made when people spoke their minds in what they thought was a private moment.

        “Words from Above” in the Bible tell us that we need to be very careful about what we say and how we say what we say.  Jesus very clearly said in Matthew 12:36 that “every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account of it in the day of judgment”.  Jesus also said that it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks, which means that what comes out of our mouth comes from what is in our heart.  We often hear people try to excuse what they say as a “slip of the tongue”, but in reality they were more than likely saying what was in their heart.  People may try to apologize for what they say, but once words come out of the mouth they cannot be put back in the mouth.

        Paul said in Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers.”  In other words, we should not use our words to slander others, lie about others, ruin the reputation of others, or cause harm to others in any way.  It is not acceptable to say “we do not gossip about our neighbors, because everything we say about them is true.”  There is an old saying that if we can’t say anything good about others, we should not say anything at all.

        An important thing about what we say is that what we say should be the truth, but even then we must be careful about what we say.  The apostle Paul says in Ephesians 4:15 that we should “speak the truth in love”, which means that what we say should not only be true, but it should also be said in a spirit of love.  Not every single thing we know to be true, as far as that is concerned, even needs to be said at all.  Sometimes everyone is better off, including ourselves, if we simply remain quiet.  We do not have to comment or express our opinion about everything we hear or read.

Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  For informa-tion, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.