Keep Your Lips Sealed

Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

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Gospel of Mark 7:14-23

Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand.  Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile."  

 I'm one of those personality types who thrives in a quiet work space.  Unfortunately, I don't always get that luxury on the job.  People love to talk and they love to talk loud.  Also, they curse a lot.  Four letter words become a part of normal conversation.  The "Oh My God!" is used frequently, too. I confess I will occasionally cuss, especially if I'm very upset about something, but this is a weakness I'm trying to overcome.  Hearing bad language throughout the day (especially in the mornings before the bosses arrive) makes me careful of what comes out of my own mouth. 

I should speak positive, useful words and not words of negativity, spite, complaint, and cursing.

What comes out of a person's mouth defiles.  It's easy for us to harbor hate and resentment.  It's natural for us to complain.  Negativity feeds on itself.  It's like a disease that easily spreads infecting others around us.  When we vocalize nastiness, it doesn't make us holier.  It certainly doesn't make for a pleasant environment.  As the old saying goes, we should hold our tongues if we don't have something nice to say.  Speech is a beautiful gift from God that should be used appropriately.  

By nature, I'm a melancholic person who can easily turn into a complainer.  I tend to shift my thoughts toward the negative more easily than the positive.  Again, this is a weakness I'm working to remedy.  When I observe behaviors around me, I find I gravitate more toward people who smile and who are positive.  I can tell from their personality that they are people of warmth and compassion.  Yes, they may harbor some negativity every now and then, but they are able to let it go!  They see the beauty in everybody.  They are terrific people who's behavior I need to model.

The Devil loves when our words and hearts are filled with lust, envy, greed, and arrogance.  He takes it upon himself to continually tempt us with evil thoughts so that we will stray away from God.  Our best weapon of defense is prayer.  

When tempted to gossip we should pray for silence .....  
When tempted to sexual impurity, we should pray for chastity....
When tempted to hate, we should pray for the ability to love.....
When tempted to over-indulgence, we should pray for moderation...
When tempted to break the law, we should pray for justice.....
When tempted to lie, we should pray for truth.....
When tempted to arrogance, we should pray for humility.....
When tempted to selfishness, we should pray for selflessness....
When tempted to indifference, we should pray for charity.....

When tempted to push God out of our lives, we should pray for the strength to keep him close to our hearts.  Don't allow our inner demons to defile us.  Allow the holy touch of Christ to bring a positive outlook into our lives.  

-J.