30,31 Mar -- Foot in Mouth Disease?

The readings for Fri 30 and Sat 31 March are -- Gen 42:5-43:14, Ps 14:1-7; Prov 3:13-14; Mt 15:10-39.

People who are constantly saying the wrong thing are sometimes described as having foot-in-mouth disease. Perhaps it's really just a case of heart-in-mouth disease.

At the beginning of Mt 15, we saw the Pharisees criticising Jesus because his disciples didn't perform the prescribed ritual hand washings before eating. Jesus called them hypocrites and applied the words of one of Isaiah's prophecies to them -- "These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me." Jesus put it down to a heart problem.

In the current reading from Matthew, Jesus enlarges on this with some very perceptive comments. "But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a man." (15:18). "For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies." (15:19) i.e. evil deeds and evil words. "It's not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." (15:11).

The good news is that Jesus can cure heart disease. And that fixes foot-in-mouth disease.

26,27 Mar -- More Words on Words

The readings for Mon 26 and Tues 27 March are -- Gen 39:1-41:7; Ps 12:6-8; Prov 3:9-10; Mt 14:1-21.

In many of his Psalms, David cries out to God because he is surrounded by evil-doers. In Psalm 12, he cries out to God because he is surrounded by evil-speakers -- liars, flatterers, deceivers, boasters (12:1-4). By contrast, God's words are true and as pure as repeatedly refined silver (12:6). God's promises are certain.

In both the current Genesis and Matthew readings, we see examples of the harm that wrong words can bring.
* Potiphar's wife falsely accuses Joseph of raping her. As a result, he loses Potiphar's trust and is imprisoned.
* The chief cupbearer seems to have agreed to put in a good word for Joseph when released. "Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he forgot him." (Gen 40:23) So Joseph languished in prison for another two years.
* Herod made a promise with an oath to give the daughter of Herodias whatever she asked. She asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter, and Herod kept his promise -- a very foolish one.

I reckon we should say what we mean and mean what we say and ensure that none of it is mean and that all of it is meaningful. I think that's Biblical.

24,25 Mar -- Why Don't You Just Shut-up!

The readings for Sat 24 and Sun 25 March are -- Gen 37:1-38:30; Ps 12:1-5; Prov 3:7-8; Mt 13:36-58.

Last night in Church I got up and said to everyone "Why don't you just shut-up!" Before you conclude that the Pastor's finally lost it, let me explain. My sermon was entitled "The Words of my Mouth" and was based on Psalm 12. I wanted to start off by making the point that our speech can be very powerful -- in a negative way or in a positive way. So I began: "Why don't you just shut-up!.. You're an idiot!.. I just don't love you anymore... That's really interesting; tell me more... You're really quite clever you know... I love you and love being with you..."

Then I told this little story. Xanthus, the philosopher, once told his servant that the next day he was going to have some friends for dinner and that he should get the best thing he could find in the market. The philosopher and his guests sat down the next day at the table. They had nothing but tongue -- four or five courses of tongue -- tongue cooked in this way, and tongue cooked in that way. The philosopher finally lost his patience and said to the servant, "Didn't I tell you to get the best thing in the market?" The servant said, "I did get the best thing in the market. Isn't the tongue the organ of sociability, the organ of eloquence, the organ of kindness, the organ of worship?" Then Xanthus the philosopher said, "Tomorrow I want you to get the worst thing in the market." And on the morrow the philosopher sat at the table, and there was nothing but tongue -- four or five courses of tongue -- tongue in this shape and tongue in that shape. The philosopher lost his patience again and said, "Didn't I tell you to get the worst thing in the market?" The servant replied, "I did; for isn't the tongue the organ of blasphemy, the organ of defamation, the organ of lying?" (From "The Behavior of Belief" by Spiros Zodhiates.)

And here are a couple of other quotes I used.
"It's much better to keep silent and let everyone think you are a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." (Lewis Sperry Chater)
"If your lips would keep from slips,
Five things observe with care:
To whom you speak; of whom you speak;
And how, and when and where." (William Norris)

18,19 Mar -- The Tongue is Connected to...

The readings for Sun 18 and Mon 19 March are -- Gen 32:1-33:20; Ps 10:13-18; Prov 3:1-2; Mt 12:9-37.

I recently heard of a guy who frequently made inappropriate remarks in conversation. After one such incident, he told a friend: "I felt like I just wanted to rip my tongue out." The friend replied: "You'd have to pull pretty hard, because your tongue is connected to your heart." Jesus said the same thing -- "For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart." (Mt 12:34)

Hence the wisdom of Proverbs 3:1-2 -- "... Let your heart keep my commands; for they will bring you... well-being."

P.S. I'm planning to speak on the tongue this coming Sunday night, mainly from Psalm 12 (one of the "Thru in 2" readings for the weekend). Any good ideas, suggestions, stories, illustrations?