SPEECH, THE GREAT BETRAYER

Matthew 26:73-74 And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.”

74 Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” 

In the Gospel of Matthew, we find the account of Peter’s denial of Christ.  Just a few hours earlier, he had bravely stated to Jesus, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”  After, a long, harrowing day, the brave statements had diminished, Peter had fallen asleep during prayer with the Master, one of his inner-circle had betrayed Jesus, all the disciples had fled, and yet, somehow, Peter had made his way back as far as the outer courtyard.  As he sat, warming his hands by the fire, the accusations began; “You were with Jesus of Galilee, This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth,” which of course, Peter denied.  Then came the final indictment, one which Peter would have a hard time countering, “Surely you also are one of them, for YOUR SPEECH betrays you.”  What would Peter do; what closing argument could shut the mouth of the Accusers?  To remove all doubt, Peter began to curse and swear.  His speech no longer betrayed his connection to Jesus.

What does your speech say about you?  Is it kind?  Encouraging?  Loving? Does it identify you as a Citizen of Heaven or betray the true intent of your heart?  Matthew and Luke, both remind us that “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”  Don’t forget SPEECH covers all the avenues of communication you may travel.

 In today’s world, social media has become the GREAT BETRAYER!!!  It is as if we feel an anonymity to state anything that pops in our head, post suggestive pictures or opine in any way we choose because no one can see us.  Just because, you are not looking into someone’s eyes as you post updates and comments does not lessen the impact.  Colossians 4:6 says “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”  Take an extra minute or two before you hit the “POST” or “SEND” button.  Ask yourself, does my update fit the criteria set forth in Colossians?  Do my pictures create smiles and portray God’s love or do they put ungodly thoughts in someone’s mind?  If I have a differing opinion do I state it with kindness or do I feel a need to insult the person with whom I disagree?  Does my speech point the way to Jesus Christ or does my speech betray me and portray the “real me”?

Psalms 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.”

YOU DIDN'T WRITE THAT!!!

I am and always have been a voracious reader.  Yes, I looked up the word voracious, on line and it definitely fits my reading habits.  My love affair with reading began in 1st grade when I found out that the words coming from my mouth were actually different combinations of letters.  I also found that those words could be arranged in different combinations on a page to tell a story, describe a sunset and even transport me to faraway places without ever leaving my chair.  Thus began my fascination with the written word.  I read every book I could get my hands on, read signs and even the writing on the drain culvert; of course Mom quickly explained that I shouldn’t sound out every word I saw.  Around 7 years old, I discovered newspapers.  They contained real news about real people that was happening right now.  On Saturday and Sunday, I would wake up at 6:30 just to be the first to read the newspaper.  The local library banned me from checking books out in the morning and returning them in the afternoon because I wasn’t giving them time to process the cards; this was years before computer technology.  A couple of years ago, Steve bought me a Kindle, now I carry over a 100 books, ready anytime; anywhere.

When I turned 50, my love for reading morphed into a love for writing.  I write when I’m happy, excited, sad, grieving, thoughtful, outraged or when any other emotion invades my life.  There is something so satisfying about describing feelings, thoughts, concepts or revelations through the written word.  I never grow bored with the challenge of using words to transport my reader smack dab into the middle of my imagination.  Through reading and writing, I have developed an appreciation and respect for the work of other writers because each finished work is a very personal piece of the author.

Now you understand why it is so troubling when I see quotes and sometimes whole paragraphs and articles posted on social media without mentioning the name of the author.  No, as a matter of fact, often they are posted as the poster’s own awesome thoughts and creations.  Thumbs up, kudos, oohs and aahs are given and even then the poster refuses to clarify the authorship and instead accepts the accolades as his due.  I know that the world has been around for thousands of years and there is probably nothing new under the sun that has not been said or published somewhere.  I am sure that if someone wanted to Google various lines from any piece of writing, they could find somewhere it had already been spoken or written.  I am also sure I have been guilty of not doing enough research on some lines but if it is not my own thoughts, I try to cite the author or at least, author unknown, so as to not mislead my reader into thinking it is my brilliance on the page.  In the academic/journalistic world, such behavior is called Plagiarism.  Reporters have been fired and students have been expelled for stealing someone’s creativity and passing it off as their own. 

Recently, I was listening to an awesome sermon.  It touched me so deeply; I wanted to post a link so that others could be blessed.  Turning on the television, I heard, to my surprise the same sermon being preached by a different preacher.  It wasn’t just the same scripture text or the same idea or title, IT WAS THE SAME SERMON, WORD FOR WORD!!!  I wanted to scream, “YOU DIDN’T WRITE THAT!!!”  I didn’t post the link because I wasn’t sure who should be credited with the sermon.  I recently posted an article on my Face book page and imagine my surprise as I read another posting today with the exact same article.  The difference, I provided a link to the article which cited the author; today’s post had the article rewritten, word for word as the poster’s own thoughts on the matter.  The comments posted after the article confirmed that most everyone thought the poster was brilliant for having revealed such awesome truths.  I continued reading the comments, sure that somewhere the owner of the page had posted a comment clarifying that it wasn’t his article but one that was so good, he had to share, but NO, the pats on the back and accolades kept flowing.  I wanted to type, “YOU DIDN’T WRITE THAT!!!”  I refrained. 

So please remember, just because you can type or manipulate a pen doesn’t make the words you write your property unless they come from your brain and your heart.  If you author something and I repost, I will be sure and cite you as the originator.  If you post something that you read or hear, please, please, please give the author credit or at least (anon) so that you are not guilty of receiving praise for plagiarism.  According to dictionary.com, plagiarism is “an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author.”  And according to the Bible; Exodus 20:15, “Thou shall not steal.”