BAD BREATH
I work as a receptionist at an animal hospital. One of my jobs there is to answer the phone. The only way of interaction with the person on the phone is by hearing what and how I talk to them. Even when I don’t feel good. Even when I am grumpy. Even when I would rather be doing anything else other than answering the phone, I still have to be careful what and how I talk to a potential or current customer. This is the first impression that a prospective client will get about our hospital. If I do not talk to them cheerfully and respectively, I could turn someone away from making an appointment. I called another hospital to get some information on a new client that was coming to us. The lady on the phone was rude. After I got off the phone with her, I turned to the other receptionist and told her that I knew how it felt to talk to someone who did not care how she sounded to others. I told her I was going to try to be better about my attitude while talking to someone on the phone, even though they are being the rude one.
Have you ever said something and even as you were saying it, you wished you could pull a string and get those words back in your mouth? I have had so many times in my life that I wish I could do that. Times that my mouth and my brain were not working together. Times that even after an apology, the person pulls their life away from you. The words we say can be so hurtful to others. Once those words get out of our mouth, you can never take them back. That “bad breath” lingers on.
For us to be a light to this world, we have to be careful of what and how we say things to others. We can influence someone to want to know more about God by our “light” or we can be the person who influences them to not want to know more about God, because of the words we say, “our bad breath.” Part of how we live our lives for the Lord, is by what comes out of our mouths. What comes out of our mouths tells others what our heart is like. Matthew 12:33-37 says “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” The Bibleis just full of passages about our tongue. So that shows me that the tongue, even though it is a small part; it is a very important part of who we are and what we are portraying to others. When you finish reading my blog today, turn your Bibles to James 3 and read that chapter. Some of the words that are used here to describe the tongue are: “a fire”- “set on fire by hell”- “an unruly evil”- “full of deadly poison”- “out of the same mouth proceed blessing or cursing.” How can a person curse one minute and then the next minute try to make others think that they are trying to live for the Lord? Cursing, using the Lord’s name in vain, can only produce negative results. Have you ever listened to a couple of people talking to each other and hear a lot of cursing? It seems like they are “fueled” by each other using the Lord’s name in vain. Somehow, they feel there is power in those curse words. But that type of power is not from the Lord. I started watching a movie the other night and every other word was a curse word. Without those words, the movie might have been a good story. Instead of watching the entire thing, I changed to a different channel. If a person watches and hears cursing all the time, cursing becomes a part of their vocabulary and a part of their heart as well. It becomes easy for a word to “slip out” once and awhile. The other day, at the store, I heard a little boy, about 3 years old, saying some curse words. Where did he learn those words from? Think about! Once cursing becomes part of your life, it spreads like a wild fire to your heart. Cursing is negative. It does not help anyone or any situation.
Gossip is a part of the tongue that is so dangerous! Proverbs 16:28 says “A whisperer separates the best of friends.” Proverbs 18:8 says “the words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body.” Proverbs 11:13 says “A talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is a faithful spirit conceals a matter.” And one of my favorites, Ecclesiastes 10:20 says “Do not curse the king, even in your thought; do not curse the rich in your bedroom. For a bird of the air may carry your voice, and a bird in flight may tell the matter.” My memory is not as good as it used to be. If I were to tell someone else, what I might have heard someone say, I might exaggerate or tell that gossip wrong. There was a time that someone started some gossip that was not true about me. I mentioned in another post that when my husband died, his paycheck was immediately taken out of our bank account. The church, and so many friends, helped me during that time to pay my expenses as well as the flowers for the funeral, etc. A friend came to me and said someone had started a rumor that I was giving some of that money to my daughter and her husband. None of that was true and I asked my friend to tell that person to “un-tell” that gossip because it was definitely untrue! How could someone tell such an untruth to others? That hurt my heart that someone would think that of me and in the middle of such a difficult time in my life. In the middle of shock and grief of my husband dying! Words hurt! When gossip is spoken by someone, they feel important that they know a secret. Read Romans 1:28-32. In these verses, are listed evil things. Whisperers and backbiters are listed right along with “haters of God”- “murderers”- “deceitful.” Verse 32 tells us “that those who practice such things are deserving of death.” So, you mean, that if I hear some “juicy” gossip and I tell others, that it could cause my eternal death? Yes!
Our words, can be the reason we receive eternal death or eternal life! Jesus said in Matthew 12:36, “…every idle word that men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”
On the other hand, words can be used to the glory of God. Even just listening and not saying anything, is for God’s glory. Our words can give comfort, peace, strength, joy, knowledge, laughter and so many other amazing results. Our words can lead someone to Jesus.
The “breath” that comes out of our mouths can be pure or it can cause someone to turn away from us because it is so bad.
So, the next time you open your mouth, what is going to come out? Will the words be a breath of fresh air or will they be bad breath? If it is bad breath, you might cause someone to go elsewhere in search of answers that will affect their souls!
Whew, think I will go use some mouthwash, from God’s word, after writing this. How about you?
Till next time! Keela