5月29日

標　　題：每句閒話

經　　節：我又告訴你們，凡人所說的閒話，當審判的日子，必要句句供出來。（馬太福音十二章36節）

耶穌坦率地告訴我們說閒話的後果，但祂的警告常被忽視。耶穌說，每句閒話在審判的日子，句句都要供出來。我們一點也不訝異耶穌指責褻瀆神或污穢的言語，然而，講幾句閒話又有什麼關係呢？閒話是未考慮對他人有否影響的情況下，不小心說出的話。我們太快下定語，以為口舌的罪是微小、無關緊要的罪，神也不在乎這種罪。但耶穌完全瞭解話語的破壞性，口中的閒話可以顯示內心真正的狀態（馬太福音十五：17∼20）。

箴言鼓勵我們要少言少語，免得語出不當（箴言十七：28）。當沒有重要的事可說時，我們容易說出誹謗中傷的話或是閒話。我們花愈多時間閒聊，就愈有可能說些無益有害的話。雅各要信徒「快快地聽，慢慢地說，慢慢地動怒」（雅各書一：19）。多聽少說，讓我們較不會說出唐突的話！

仔細想想自己口中吐出的言語。基督徒應該說一些造就人、叫人聽見得益處的話（以弗所書四：29）。你是否需要少說點話？在說那些自認為好笑的笑話時，是否應該更小心？求聖靈幫助你評估何為造就人、何為傷害人或中傷人的話。

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.