'Putting Up' 365

"For the mouth simply shapes the heart's impulses into words. And so the good man (who is filled with goodness), speaks good words, while the evil man (who is filled with evil) speaks evil words.  I tell you this: on the day of judgment, people will be called to account for every careless word they have ever said.”

—Matthew 12:33-37, Voice translation

Welcome to the home stretch. It may still feel like summer (thank You, Lord) on the first weekend of September, but psychologically, the mind has already made the shift to things like keeping warm against the coming harsh winds of winter, comfort foods, and “putting up” everything from veggies from the garden to stacks of seasoned firewood. It’s another way of saying, according to one dictionary, "to prepare so as to preserve for later use or to put in storage."

There’s another theme that seems to be in season: The words we speak. Seriously, again? Just when you think it’s a passing biblical topic you’ve heard a million times, and you head on to something more important, God has a way of saying through random verses, devotionals, and sermon nuggets:

“Not so fast, my friend. Especially in this season of history, when mean-spirited words are spreading like the plague, I want you—no, I need you—to get this and let it sink in. Words, as that opening scripture indicates, are vital to Me and My kingdom.”

David and the psalmists seem to come face-to-face with this reality over and over again—either humbly aware of the power of their own words to speak life or death, or as an unjust, non-stop assault from others against them or that simply fill the atmosphere with poison. Little wonder that David often used the word “enemy” in relation to these attacks, because indeed, poisonous words are essentials of the Accuser’s toolbox. Always have been, always will be.  In one instance, David says, “They…aim cruel words like deadly arrows.” But even when an actual arrow can be removed, the wound is deep and the scar can last a lifetime.

So, there is no maybe about it: Our words stick and leave a lasting mark—be they words of life or careless, unintentionally blurted out. And we know this, right?; but, well, it’s something “you’ve heard a million times, and so you head on to something more important.” Instead, as we begin another season of putting up fruit, veggies, and firewood, it’s good to also think of putting up for ourselves good and edifying God-thoughts that just might be the ones that will preserve someone’s dignity, confidence, and smile...digging through the vibrant life that is the Gospels, and meditating more frequently on God's tireless, unfailing, wooing Love song to all creatures great and small. The call to do so is loud and resounding:

• “…Store up my commands within you.”—Proverbs 7:1
• “Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.”—Proverbs 10:4
• “The LORD…will be the sure foundation of your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge…”—Isaiah 33:5-6
• “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy…for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”—Matthew 6:20-21

Lord, You know how good we are at putting our foot in our mouth. Help us to become bad at that, and let the overflow that comes from more time by Your side increasingly "put up" words that heal and not wound, bring a smile to a frown, and build up and not tear down. If not us, then who? At the same time, please protect us from the arrows of words aimed at us—intentionally or not—so that they have only a glancing blow and don't stop us in our tracks from what You have called us to do and be.