Oh be careful little mouth what you say

July 28, 2015

Warning: boots may be needed to continue reading today's blog because I fear some toes may be stepped upon. Read on at your own risk.

Ooh, that sounds kind of ominous, doesn't it? Wonder how many folks have already stopped reading? Oh well: you're still here and that's who I wanted to talk to anyways.

I've been pondering humans and humanity for a while now. At my age, I am tired of game playing where folks will go along with the crowd so that they may be considered part of the crowd but then are unable to stand on their own when no one else is around. Does that make sense? It's easy to say one thing--and fully believe you mean it--when you have accountability partners there to assist you in whatever goal you are reaching for. Take exercise, for instance. It's so much easier to stay with it when you have someone beside you, working with you, pushing you to complete and to not give up.

But when that person leaves and you are left to your own devices, then what? Or when you agree to be a part of something--say a visitation ministry or support group--but the ones you sought to impress aren't physically there, rather than focusing on the object at hand, you bail. You meant it when you committed but...but only if a certain somebody was going to see your actions.

Let's go a little further. Ever had someone ask you to pray for them? Ever seen a posting or been in a prayer service and jotted that soul's name down and never thought of them again--but at the time someone was led to believe you'd actually follow through on your vow? I see so many times "praying" on the comment section of a request. I hear the words "our thoughts and prayers go out to the..." blah blah blah as celebrities, politicians, and the media are prone to say when disaster strikes. This evokes a sense of gratitude, of hope, of trust that another soul is out there, praying on your behalf when in actuality chances are good you've not been given a second thought. Out of sight, out of mind.

I John 3:18 says: Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. The Fixx had a hit song back in 2009 called "One Thing Leads to Another." The chorus includes these words:

Why don't they

Do what they say

Say what they mean

One thing leads to another♫

Right now, I am remembering a dear child who told me what she thought I wanted to hear, along with a promise to follow up on what she was complimenting me about. Yeah. Guess what? There was no follow up, no conversation about what we had just discussed. But, because she thought her words were comforting and made her look like she really cared about what I was going through, she felt good in her heart about having done "the right thing." Does that make sense? Basically, she thought she was soothing me, stroking my ego, when in fact her words of "support" showed the opposite and left me feeling most unsupported. Sigh. It made her feel good to play the role of an adult, to say the things adults say to one another, and to have me think she has really grown into a woman of God. However, what it made me see was that yes, she is nearly an adult, yes she is playing the pretend role of one (because--after all--isn't that what adults do: tell you one thing and forget that promise when you are no longer in their sight?), and instead of being a woman of God, she is a woman of the world. My disappointment is palpable.

In conclusion, what I guess I am writing is a warning for us: if you don't mean it, don't say it. Don't try to placate others with soothing words that end up rubbing us the wrong way when you don't follow through. Just pat me on the hand and tell me I'm pretty instead. It would have about as much effect as your lie does.

Let's pray.

God...wow. I didn't know I was so upset over this incident until I started blogging on it. You know, Lord, being lied to has always been my number one pet peeve. This child did it by the oft touted "sin of omission" defense but...I still feel pricked and am not happy to see the youth of today turning into carbon copies of the women of yesterday.

Lord, we have GOT to be different. We have GOT to love in spirit and in truth. May we not tickle ears but instead may we touch hearts when our actions back up our words. Help me most with this, Father, so that I don't become hypocritical and judgmental and be a liar too.

Thank You, Lord, for this lesson this morning. Guard my tongue today, I ask, and help me to be a catalyst into changing this way of "Christianity" into one of Christ-likeness. In Your Son Jesus' name I pray. Amen.