I'm just sayin'

(photo credit: twitter)

“Christians should not be whiners or jerks. No, I am not referencing anyone in particular. Yes, you can quote me.”  That was my Facebook post Friday morning.  I said it in a conversation earlier in the day and it seemed worth sharing.  (Writer’s occupational hazard).

Some of you know that Life Matters appears in both blog and newspaper column format.  Some may not know that I write another blog almost every day. Dr. G’s Morning Cup of Encouragement is posted every day except Friday (pretty much).  You can find it at www.drgencouragement.blogspot.com . I’d love to have you join my community there.

When I wrote that blog this morning, I thought it might be worth sharing with my Life Matters readers.  So, here it is.

"But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, 'Do not answer him.'" (Isaiah 36:21)

There is a long back-story to this verse that is beyond the scope of this post. (It may, however result in a good sermon sometime). For our purposes today, let me just say that sometime around 700 BC the Field Commander of the Assyrian army was publicly taunting the representatives of the king of Israel. He basically told them that their God could not save them from the might of the Assyrian army. Instead of getting into a shouting match, or a negotiation, they listened and said nothing (following orders given by their king).

A few days ago, I heard some good advice to leaders: "Sit down, shut up, and listen." In our increasingly strident and argumentative culture, there seems to be a belief that arguments are won by volume and/or violence. We feel that we must shout louder or hit harder. And if we don't hit harder physically, then we must hit harder with our words. After all we have to stand up for what we believe!

The responses that we often give may actually call some of our beliefs into question. I am wondering today how some situations might be different if we were to pause and pray before we speak in these situations ... If we were to ask God what we should say ... If we were to ask God IF WE SHOULD SPEAK AT ALL.

What if "just sayin'" were preceded by "just prayin'"?

Question: What are some strategies you might employ to be sure that your words are guided by God?

I think that’s a pretty good question.

I heard another good quote this week:  “Choose being Godly over being great.”  There may not be a better example of that than the words we choose. “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks … But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.” (Matthew 12:34; 36)

Our lives matter so much to God that He cares about what and how we speak. I’m just sayin’.