5月29日
标 题：每句闲话
经 节：我又告诉你们，凡人所说的闲话，当审判的日子，必要句句供出来。（马太福音十二章36节）
耶稣坦率地告诉我们说闲话的后果，但祂的警告常被忽视。耶稣说，每句闲话在审判的日子，句句都要供出来。我们一点也不讶异耶稣指责亵渎神或污秽的言语，然而，讲几句闲话又有什么关系呢？闲话是未考虑对他人有否影响的情况下，不小心说出的话。我们太快下定语，以为口舌的罪是微小、无关紧要的罪，神也不在乎这种罪。但耶稣完全了解话语的破坏性，口中的闲话可以显示内心真正的状态（马太福音十五：17～20）。
箴言鼓励我们要少言少语，免得语出不当（箴言十七：28）。当没有重要的事可说时，我们容易说出诽谤中伤的话或是闲话。我们花愈多时间闲聊，就愈有可能说些无益有害的话。雅各要信徒“快快地听，慢慢地说，慢慢地动怒”（雅各书一：19）。多听少说，让我们较不会说出唐突的话！
仔细想想自己口中吐出的言语。基督徒应该说一些造就人、叫人听见得益处的话（以弗所书四：29）。你是否需要少说点话？在说那些自认为好笑的笑话时，是否应该更小心？求圣灵帮助你评估何为造就人、何为伤害人或中伤人的话。
Every Careless Word
“But I say to you that for every idle word men
may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.” (Matthew
12:36)
Jesus spoke plainly about our idle words, yet His
warning often goes unheeded. Jesus said that for every idle word there will be
a time of accounting in the day of judgment. We would expect Jesus to condemn
profane and vile uses of the tongue, but idle words? Idle words are things we
say carelessly, without concern for their impact on others. We too quickly
assume that the sins of our tongue are minor sins, sins that God will overlook.
Yet Jesus was fully aware of the devastating nature of our words, for the idle
words that come from our mouths give a lucid picture of the condition of our
heart_(Matt. 15:17–20).
The Book of Proverbs encourages us to speak less
rather than risk saying something offensive (Prov. 17:28). Often when we have
nothing significant to say we are tempted to speak injurious, idle words. The
more time we spend in idle chatter, the greater the likelihood that we will say
things that are harmful. James cautioned believers to be “swift to hear, slow
to speak, slow to wrath” (James 1:19). We are in much less danger of saying
something offensive when we are listening than when we are speaking!
Think carefully about the words that come from your
mouth. Christians should speak only words that uplift and bring grace to others
(Eph. 4:29). Do you need to speak less? Do you need to be more careful about
the kind of humor you use? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you evaluate whether
your words build up others or whether they destroy and hurt others.
