BE CAREFUL OF IDLE WORDS
That is, useless chat—unprofitable talk—that is not referred any way to the glory of God.[1] This is a common evil and little regarded by most, if not all. Words are just words, we tell ourselves. Others say, ‘I do not really in sincerity mean them, it is just a way of talking’. Yet, such a one forgets that his/her mouth is but the very out-let of his heart. Hence, idle words are the smoke of the heart.
Why are idle words evil?
- The evil of them is exceedingly aggravated by this: they abuse and pervert the tongue, that noble member, from that employment and use which God by the law of creation designed it to.
- It is a sinful wasting of our precious time.
- It is a sin that few are sensible of as they are of other sins, and therefore the more dangerous. They are quickly committed and easily forgotten.
- They have mischievous effects upon other people; you pass them on or others unconsciously take them on.
[1] Thought adapted from John Flavel, Sinful Speech.
Grace to the Nation 