I'm sure many have heard the phrase, "Use your words wisely," at some point in time; or possibly the catchphrase, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." What I have come to notice, though, is that many in this day and age toss around words and phrases with no thought whatsoever. Due to this extreme absence of thought, I have come to find that I am quite skeptical of words people say.
The pace of society seems to inhibit our ability to consciously think through what we say to eachother, which negates the step that ensures that these words express how we truly feel, along with whether or not our actions will back up the thoughts expressed within those words. I think my skepticism was established back in my early years of college when I happened to be a magnet for pathological liars. After associating with them, it has become much harder for me to believe what people say to me. This is why one of my favorite scriptures happens to be 1 John 3:18, which states, "Dear friends, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth." I know people mean well when they say kind words, but if this has turned into a mere knee-jerk reaction for the majority of people in their lives, then the significance of some phrases can become lost. This is why I find it much more important to express yourself through actions than through nice comments to one another.
Another reasoning behind my developing skepticism towards what people say is the fact that nobody wants to be held accountable for what they say or what others claim they have said. Everyday it seems like somebody is trying to back out of some form of written contract, or even worse, trying to back out of a marriage. The divorce rate today is astounding, which makes me wonder if anybody ever really means, "Til death do us part." It seems more likely that people are searching for their own happiness and once they get tired of their spouse, it's out with the old and in with the new, with no thought whatsoever to those sacred vows they once spoke.
Many feel they can hide behind their words in order to avoid facing other people or bearing the consequences due to their lack of thought. Be warned, though, that just because another human does not catch on to your true motives doesn't mean that nobody is aware of the intentions within your heart. God is always aware of what's on your heart each and every second. He knows when people lie about how they feel about themselves or about others. In Isaiah 29:13, he calls out the people of Ariel: "The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." In essence, God was well aware that these people were hypocrites who would say one thing but do another.
For your own sake, analyze your life and what you say to others. Do you truly mean those words that you express, or is it just an easy out for you to move on and avoid conflict? If there happen to be phrases that you utilize but don't truly mean when you say them, restrain yourself and just don't use them. It is best to stop the hypocrisy as soon as possible in order to live a more honest life. In my own life, there are things that I say that aren't true, and it is my goal to refrain from the usage of these phrases. At the moment, it is as simple as stating, "I'm fine," when somebody asks me how I am feeling, when that is not always necessarily the truth. So if anybody happens to hear me use this phrase, hold me accountable to make sure I am not just using a quick answer to avoid expressing how I truly feel.
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