Ecclesiastes 7:21-22
21 Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. 22 Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.
People talk too much and the more they talk the more likely they are to say something that goes further than what they really mean. We all have been guilty of saying things that go further than we mean in a moment of passion or fickle inattention. It stands to reason that others do the same and that sometimes we might be the source of their embelishments.
We all say things we don't mean on occasion which if they were heard could hurt the one about whom we are speaking without meaning. The advice here is to afford less gravity in weight to the words others speak (particularly about us).
It is also a reminder of our obsession with our selfish, little, narcissistic selves. There is something about overhearing someone talking about us that immediately piques our curiosity. We get very quick to cash in and pay attention to the conversation. It is very hard to resist eavesdropping on conversations in which we get a whiff of our personage being discussed if we have the opportunity. We love hearing about what others have to say about us. Our most treasured idols are the ones we create so easily by looking in the mirror. Hence: Facebook and Twitter. Boom! Roasted.
Do not take to heart all the things people say about you. You know, if you are honest, that you have often said things about others. Whether it is a matter of getting caught or overstatement; either way we should talk less about others and be concerned less with what others are saying about us.
It is a hard habit to break. We love talking about others. We love knowing others are talking about us. Only in finding ourselves in Christ are we set free from disparaging others with our words and rendering a satisfactory sense of self from the sugary sentiments of others.
21 Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. 22 Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.
People talk too much and the more they talk the more likely they are to say something that goes further than what they really mean. We all have been guilty of saying things that go further than we mean in a moment of passion or fickle inattention. It stands to reason that others do the same and that sometimes we might be the source of their embelishments.
We all say things we don't mean on occasion which if they were heard could hurt the one about whom we are speaking without meaning. The advice here is to afford less gravity in weight to the words others speak (particularly about us).
It is also a reminder of our obsession with our selfish, little, narcissistic selves. There is something about overhearing someone talking about us that immediately piques our curiosity. We get very quick to cash in and pay attention to the conversation. It is very hard to resist eavesdropping on conversations in which we get a whiff of our personage being discussed if we have the opportunity. We love hearing about what others have to say about us. Our most treasured idols are the ones we create so easily by looking in the mirror. Hence: Facebook and Twitter. Boom! Roasted.
Do not take to heart all the things people say about you. You know, if you are honest, that you have often said things about others. Whether it is a matter of getting caught or overstatement; either way we should talk less about others and be concerned less with what others are saying about us.
It is a hard habit to break. We love talking about others. We love knowing others are talking about us. Only in finding ourselves in Christ are we set free from disparaging others with our words and rendering a satisfactory sense of self from the sugary sentiments of others.
isn't it crazy how flippantly we can say something hurtful or careless about someone else, but when we hear something equally as flippant or careless spoken about us, our whole world comes crashing down? we harbor bitterness at the person who spoke it, we obsess over whether or not it's actually true and if other people think the same, we orient our whole lives around making sure people know that the other person's a jerk and a liar and what they said about us isn't true (or we believe what they say and hate ourselves). but when we say something about someone else, we always have a good reason, or they should know it was spoken after a long day, blahblahblah.
ReplyDeletea great reminder to not only watch my own words, but to offer grace and the love that 'covers a multitude of sins' to others when they speak hurtfully.