TRASH TALKING

I Was Just Thinking About – TRASH TALKING.

Did you ever pause and think to yourself: “If my trash can could speak, I wonder what it would say about me?” The other part to this thought pertains to the words one utters or mumbles. Does it really matter what I am thinking about and what I say? An application is in terms of the words spoken negatively about others. The person listening to such words and absorbing them as being truthful has allowed for his/her ears to become trash receptacles. Those careless moments and words do have eternal consequences.

In the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, He covered several subjects. In Matthew 12:33-37, Jesus said: “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure. But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” The emphasis is on the phrase: “every careless word.”

James 3:5-11 expands on this thought of Jesus: “The tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest on fire. The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell…no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.”

Several books in the Bible contain passages that address the words one uses when they flow out of a heart of bitterness, anger, wrath, envy, evil speaking, etc. Sometimes, it flows out of a life that has been lived irresponsibly and ignoring the standards and values of the Lord. Then, like with a snap of the fingers, there is a “religious experience” or a moment of awakening and wanting to find acceptance within the structures where there have been years of rejecting or ignoring God and His Word.

When planting fruit trees, it takes time for growth and maturation to occur. There has to be care and diligence to make certain the tree has every opportunity to be what it is supposed to be. So it is with life. Psalm 1 indicates that it needs to be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. Anything harmful for the trees growth and maturation, like trash and weeds need to be removed. It takes time and care for that tree to grow and to become productive. Trash-Talking must be dealt with if the spiritual tree, one’s life in Christ, is to be fruitful and productive.

Prayerfully – consider these things with me!