The Worth of Your Words (Do they translate to true care?)
As I meditate upon my devotional text this morning, I am lingering on the burden it bears on my soul to always make sure my words of encouragement or concern are not just polite overtures but are translatable actions. As faced paced as our communities and lives are, so have our greetings, and genuine care for one another become...face-paced and lacking depth. It is easy to express concern or give encouragement, but the worth of
words spoken take on value when those words are carried out in deeds.
Faced paced world, face-paced words. We've become people who just dole out words. We talk a lot about doing, and much of our talk translates to no action...well, often no action for others. The busier we get, the greater the gap grows between our words (greetings, promises, best wishes, vows) and deeds. We say things and forget we said them. The timeline to follow through with genuine care becomes compounded with excuses such as, "I've been busy", "my life is complicated", "Oh the kids have me running", " this program and that activity". The reality is that this is the world dictating how we are living out our lives as opposed to Christ being our model.
We cannot engage one another with the "world's way" of interaction, which is seemingly so shallow. We go in with facial expressions of concern, and even favorable sounding tones of care; yet we'd be too happy when the interaction is over. Or in many cases, when the interaction with others is over we too quickly forget the issues or concerns. We say the polite and appropriate hello's and goodbyes, as in, "God Bless you", "Peace be unto you" ,"Blessings to you and yours", but do we really understand the depth of our greetings. It would be such a rich experience if indeed our words of blessings did manifest in the life of the hearer. It would be so marvelous if the peace we conveyed in our talking really surpassed one's human experience and lead to rest in Christ, as it should.
CHRIST'S WEIGHTY (worthy) WORDS
Jesus Christ in his short earthly ministry is the premier example of how to build worth in what we say. Jesus was not only present in being when he interacted with those he encountered (the disciples, passersby, townspeople, Pharisees, Governors and his parents) he was engaging and available. He did not just speak words of healing, he touched, visited folks in their homes, spoke to the least likely to be spoken to, he picked up children, he washed feet, broke bread and poured wine. His words were weighty because they carried the impact of his deeds among men. When Christ, gave his benediction, "Peace be with you", those words were full of sweetness and a filling to the soul. For indeed, the Prince of Peace himself was saying, I wish not to give you the shallow care and temporary attention the world gives, but I convey to you the peace that is outsourced from heaven. The peace that surpasses all human understanding and leads to eternal rest with the Father.
APPLICATION and MEDITATION
As I closed my devotion, here is the thought I was engaged in:
My steps are now halted to pay even closer attention to my words, and making sure I speak what I can back up with deeds. In a world of words, and every other person is now classified as "friend"; genuine care has been watered down to passing words. But there is much irony here, for "true friends" care for each other. Most certainly then it would be reasonable to think that the friends of God-children of God, would take care to speak words of worth, as the Son of God did while he lived here on earth. Let's make sure that our words are not just polite, but that they are genuine and carry the impact of a good deed.
Citation:C.H. Spurgeon Sermon no. 247
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” John 14:27
C. H. Spurgeon says, "Christ, when he blesses, blesses not in word only, but in deed. The lips of truth cannot promise more than the hands of love will surely give. He gives not in compliment."A WORLD OF WORDS
Faced paced world, face-paced words. We've become people who just dole out words. We talk a lot about doing, and much of our talk translates to no action...well, often no action for others. The busier we get, the greater the gap grows between our words (greetings, promises, best wishes, vows) and deeds. We say things and forget we said them. The timeline to follow through with genuine care becomes compounded with excuses such as, "I've been busy", "my life is complicated", "Oh the kids have me running", " this program and that activity". The reality is that this is the world dictating how we are living out our lives as opposed to Christ being our model.
We cannot engage one another with the "world's way" of interaction, which is seemingly so shallow. We go in with facial expressions of concern, and even favorable sounding tones of care; yet we'd be too happy when the interaction is over. Or in many cases, when the interaction with others is over we too quickly forget the issues or concerns. We say the polite and appropriate hello's and goodbyes, as in, "God Bless you", "Peace be unto you" ,"Blessings to you and yours", but do we really understand the depth of our greetings. It would be such a rich experience if indeed our words of blessings did manifest in the life of the hearer. It would be so marvelous if the peace we conveyed in our talking really surpassed one's human experience and lead to rest in Christ, as it should.
CHRIST'S WEIGHTY (worthy) WORDS
Jesus Christ in his short earthly ministry is the premier example of how to build worth in what we say. Jesus was not only present in being when he interacted with those he encountered (the disciples, passersby, townspeople, Pharisees, Governors and his parents) he was engaging and available. He did not just speak words of healing, he touched, visited folks in their homes, spoke to the least likely to be spoken to, he picked up children, he washed feet, broke bread and poured wine. His words were weighty because they carried the impact of his deeds among men. When Christ, gave his benediction, "Peace be with you", those words were full of sweetness and a filling to the soul. For indeed, the Prince of Peace himself was saying, I wish not to give you the shallow care and temporary attention the world gives, but I convey to you the peace that is outsourced from heaven. The peace that surpasses all human understanding and leads to eternal rest with the Father.
APPLICATION and MEDITATION
As I closed my devotion, here is the thought I was engaged in:
Greetings and best wishes from the lips of a Christian should be modeled on Christ, not the world. Do you go in for the “polite lie” or are your concerns for others genuine (Philippians 2:20; 3 John 2)?
My steps are now halted to pay even closer attention to my words, and making sure I speak what I can back up with deeds. In a world of words, and every other person is now classified as "friend"; genuine care has been watered down to passing words. But there is much irony here, for "true friends" care for each other. Most certainly then it would be reasonable to think that the friends of God-children of God, would take care to speak words of worth, as the Son of God did while he lived here on earth. Let's make sure that our words are not just polite, but that they are genuine and carry the impact of a good deed.
Citation:C.H. Spurgeon Sermon no. 247
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