Watch Your Mouth
You Are What You Say – She Said
…For out of the heart come evil thoughts – murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. Matthew 15:19
“They f***** up my name.” That was in the first paragraph of a young adult novel.
I nearly fell off the couch. I pushed my glasses to my forehead and asked my husband, “Do you call this Christian writing?”
He raised his brow.
Okay, so I swallowed hard and read on. Three more sentences bore this poor excuse of worldly writing. My heart told me, “Stop reading,” but the professional side of me said, “Give it a fair chance. The writer has paid for a critique.” Three pages into the manuscript, I drew the line. I can’t do this, I thought. I can’t. If I continued, professional or not, I’d condone this author to write filth…not only in the Christian market, but to our youth. I couldn’t do it.
I’m sure my stance won’t be popular to the bulk of the writers but then, so be it. My freedom of speech allows me to write whatever I choose. But am I really free to choose according to Christ.
Christ reminded His disciples that what went into their mouths could be bad but what spewed could be worse…it could be deadly. When He called the hand of the Pharisees, He spoke as Isaiah did: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”
Our world view is skewed. It’s broken, lost. And it saddens me to think writers who write beneath the wing of Christ, fall to the world’s standards. We are called to be in the world not of the world and stooping to this level makes Satan a happy short-term soul.
I love to write. It’s a gift God gave me when He fearfully and wonderfully made me. He gifted it to me because He knew I would present His words gently, craft them uniquely, and handle them carefully. The responsibility that follows “The End” lies in my hands.
Each word has to be written as if Christ were standing before me, critiquing the page Himself. I want to be published but not at the expense of eternity. I want God to look at the talent He’s given me and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
But the truth is, it’s not just our words God will critique. It’s our lives. When we stand before Him, our lives laid open for all to see, will He be pleased?
Whether you’re a writer or a fast food clerk; regardless of your professional status, what do you profess? Stand firm in the commands of Christ and do not bend to the world’s expectations. You are what you say and eternity is a big price to pay.
Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles are friends and cofounders of ChristianDevotions.us. They cowrite the popular He Said, She Said devotions and host Blog Talk Radio’s Christian Devotions SPEAK UP! along with Scott McCausey. Eddie and Cindy travel and speak at conferences across the country and they are available to speak at your church or conference. Contact them at cindy@christiandevotions.us.
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