"I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak,
they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
For by your words shall you be justified,
and by your words, you shall be condemned."
Matthew 12:36-37
If there are any of Jesus' words that convict us of falling short of the glory of God,
these are those words.
Whatever else we may say of our devotion to God, we have failed here.
We need the savior to save us from the wrath to come.
Growing up we may have heard these words quoted in sermons.
I have not heard them now for many years.
We need to be reminded of them.
Certainly not to justify ourselves. The evidence is overwhelming.
But the Lord transforms us as we hear his words again and again.
Because He is risen, our future does not have to be as our past.
He changes us from our self-centeredness, to speak blessings.
Only the Risen One creates clean hearts to speak from.
Jesus' words show us how far short we are from the glory of God.
With our words we either bless or curse.
May the Lord help us to hear ourselves.
"but no one can tame the tongue; a restless evil, full of deadly poison."
James 3:8
"The Lord Jehovah has give me the tongue of them that are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with words him that is weary."
Isaiah 50:4