But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
We, as sinful humans, often make poor choices. One of those is often opening our mouths to speak. We begin talking to someone and before we know it, we have said something we shouldn’t have. Something that ends up hurting the person we are talking to, possibly someone we were talking about, and always ourselves. Many times, we don’t stop and take a minute to decide if what we are going to say is even kind.
We often don’t think about it and many times just think we are having casual conversation. Sometimes, we know we are talking about someone or something we really shouldn’t be talking about. We all have our own opinions and perceptions of people and the world around us. We need to take heed and know when something should be shared and when it shouldn’t.
As we know, the church is not the building we worship in, it’s the people inside the building. It’s the people outside of the building as well. It is important to watch what we say, how we say it, and to whom we say it. The wrong thing said in the wrong way to the wrong person can push people away from the church. It can push people away from anything.
Jesus calls us to be loving, caring individuals that share His love with others. One way we do this is by watching what we say and how we say it. Words spoken out of love and kindness move people in the right direction. Words spoken that are not backed by love push people away.
Before we speak, we should think about what we want to say. Is it kind? Is it important for the other person to be told? Would it cause discomfort or upset to another person? We should always choose to be kind. Speak to others the way Jesus would speak. Speak with a caring, loving heart that wants nothing more than to boost others up and point them to God.
Be gentle, be thoughtful, be kind. That’s how Jesus was and is.