Every Word We Say: Avoiding Gossip and Idle Talk
““…for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure
of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil
things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the
day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be
condemned.””
Rendering an account for careless words is a scary thought because we all fall into this. Careless words are not polite greetings and normal conversation; it’s idle talk or useless chatter that may crossover into gossip or cause some kind of harm. Idle talk is obvious when a coworker talks to us until we find an excuse to get away, but then they keep on talking anyway, and maybe even grab our arm to keep us there. It’s not so obvious when we are speaking and we’re just thoughtlessly telling a funny story that makes someone else look bad. Another example is a habit of careless words, which can easily slide into lying when we realize we’re saying something we really don’t know anything about, but to save face, we just go with it. Thoughtless speech causes confusion and promotes poor decisions based on incomplete or untrue information. Does idle talk extend to sharing excessive memes, dropping an f-bomb on X, or posting something gossipy on social media? If we are causing harm and wasting time, it seems to be idle talk. Idle talk can happen in confession when we share a long story to justify ourselves by giving context to the sin we are confessing. Idle talk distracts us and others from our real purpose.
Idle talk as a strategy for impressing others usually backfires. When someone is a chatterbox and speaks carelessly about unimportant things, others stop listening or may even avoid them. This is hard for me sometimes because I am a natural storyteller and must consciously tell myself to stop once I get on a roll.
Idle talk can be lessened by watchfulness. Take the time to listen to others instead of jabbering on about yourself. When you do speak, try listening to yourself and seeing the effect of your words on others. Why am I telling this story? Even if it’s true, is it edifying, just amusing, or is it just fun to tell a story? Am I being sensible or frivolous? Am I just filling up silence with words to avoid thinking about something I don’t want to face? Do my words bring people closer to God?
We can use words to show God’s love in simple ways. My mother-in-law had a habit of blessing people. She’d go to Wendy’s and get lunch and say “bless you” to everyone who served her. She’d smile sweetly and bless everyone as they gave her a chocolate frosty, and I’m sure it brightened the workers’ day, even if just for a moment, because she sincerely meant it.
If I copied her, I’d feel awkward and fake so the staff at Wendy’s would think I was a nut, but I can find my own ways of being productive and faithful with speech- sometimes by just being quiet!
When we consider that our words reveal our hearts and we will be accountable for them long after we’ve forgotten them it’s surely important that we pay attention to what we say and why we say it.
Lord, forgive me for my idle talk and help me to be watchful of the words I speak.
