36But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:31-37)
My wife and I were trying to go to sleep in a Denver hotel room when a couple checked in to the room next to us. The walls were so thin, you could have heard them talking in sign language! The wife was griping and calling her husband every name you could imagine. He seldom said anything. She wouldn’t let him. This went on for nearly an hour until they fell asleep. When they woke up in the morning, she picked up where she left off. The first words out of her mouth were poison. This continued until the man just left the room.
I couldn’t restrain myself. I knocked on their door, and the woman came to answer. I told her I didn’t mean to listen, but I couldn’t help it. We had heard every word she’d said. I told her I’d been praying
for her and just wanted her to know that Jesus loved her and could take her anger away. She started crying and told me she was already a Christian. She didn’t know why she was acting that way. She
said she needed help.
I had to go because I was appearing on a television program, but I told her to watch the show and I would share how to overcome strife. On the air, I told her story without using her name and explained how to stop the hatred. I never heard from her, but I’ve often wondered what happened. One thing’s for sure: That woman learned that her words weren’t as private as she thought.
Imagine what it’ll be like on judgment day when every idle word will have to be accounted for. It’s to your advantage to watch your words today, knowing that someday they will be made known. Since you have to eat your words, you might as well make them sweet.
