Damned Words

I offended him, and he had every right to be offended. What made the situation unusual, perhaps, is that he made it clear that I had done so.

Others with thicker skin might have brushed it off, but I was blessed by the candor of his words: "Now, Pilgrim, you don't have to make me feel stupid."

Not much of a blessing? To the contrary, it is a great blessing to have your faults pointed out to you, however painful that experience may be. And it hurt a lot to hear those words, because I had earned them, and I don't like to think of myself as an asshole, especially in a public setting.

But that, in unvarnished terms, was what I had been. I did the best damage control I could in a crowded room, and later pulled him aside and apologized for having been an asshole, using those very words.

Then this morning I read some scriptures and my devotional-du-jour. (Yes, there was a break in there where I had to feed the hamster.)

It was something I read in my devotional that inspired me to write this blog, but as I began to type, I suddenly remembered the scriptures I had read, and realized that they too were pointing in the same direction.

Devotional first. From The Imitation of Christ: "Beware of much talking."

Yeah, not a long quote. But it cut to the bone. I had offended this fellow traveler with callous and careless words. I speak way too soon and way too flippantly. Way too often. Yes, Thomas à Kempis had me pinned.

But it wasn't just Thomas. Jesus piled on. I remembered what I had read...

Matthew 12:34-37

You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Good people bring good things out of the good stored up in them, and evil people bring evil things out of the evil stored up in them. But I tell you that people will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your own words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

Another irony. As I began to type in this passage from Matthew, I was reminded gently of what I had been thinking about when I had been reading this passage on the first pass–or should I say who. Donald Trump.

Yes, Donald will have a lot to give account for, and I do not envy him his situation on that front. But Jesus had something to say about taking care of your own sins before attending to the sins of others. This morning I should have left The Donald to God and attended to myself first. I hadn't, but Thomas (bless him) helped me return to Jesus.

And now I realize they were both speaking to me. I need to watch my mouth. And be thankful for God's mercy, as well as the mercy of that fellow traveler, who immediately gave me the gracious words I needed to hear.

"I forgive you."