“Sorry, I just needed to vent,” said someone.
“Oh I didn’t really mean that; my tiredness got the better of me,” said someone else.
“Excuse my French, haha, I was just making a point,” said yet another.
And so we brush off the things we’ve said… and try to move on.
But our words are much more enduring than we might think. Jesus said, “On the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak” (Matt. 12:36).
How sobering is that! Everything we say is being recorded—to be examined on a judgment day that is coming. And we will give an account for every careless word we’ve spoken.
We might have expected Jesus to warn us about foul or hateful or mean-spirited language. And while that’s certainly included, He was speaking of careless words: what we said in the moment, what we uttered without careful thought, what just rolled off our tongues.
Oh my! How many countless times have I spoken carelessly?
And if we’re to give an account for careless speech, what about sarcastic jabs or demeaning put-downs? Taunts, disrespect, or scorn? Innuendo or off-color jokes? Every careless word! That injunction needs to ring in our ears!
We had better join the psalmist is praying,
Set a guard over my mouth, LORD;
keep watch over the door of my lips. (Ps. 141:3)
May the Lord help us!