Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK

“Dress Your Words with Modesty”
“…so be sensible and watch what you say....” – Proverbs 10:19b (CEV)

Knowing how to craft and draft words is truly an art—one that few possess. Some of my favorite authors are those who are incredible at creating pictures with just language. Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Max Lucado, Harold Kushner are just a few of those whose books I relish. I have read a number of books by each and as I said earlier, their ability to communicate thoughts is nothing less than masterful.
Although He never wrote a book, a newspaper article or column, our Lord was the (and still is) the Master of communicating ideas into ways we can easily comprehend and follow.
Jesus may have never written a book, but we do have one instance in which He appeared to have communicated by writing—and apparently, it got the point across.

At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” – John 8:2-11

What was Jesus writing in the sand? Was it possibly the seventh commandment that says, “You shall not commit adultery?” I have heard said from several sources that when Jesus said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her;” that He was referring to the very thing they were accusing the woman of. Jesus never debated the Law with them—He knew it and He knew that they knew it. What they did not know was that Jesus could see through their scheme and He kept His response short and to the point.
The second thing that Jesus does is not give the woman (who was guilty) the chance to justify her sin by blaming anyone or anything. In truth, her sin had exposed to everyone around—it was out in the open. There was no need to debate it or elaborate on it.
Two things Jesus did not say which are key here: First, He did not call the Pharisees, “hypocrites.” He could have…but He did not. He exposed their hypocrisy simply by crafting better words.
Second, He did not humiliate the woman any more than what she already was by calling her an adulteress. The facts spoke for themselves. What He did, was to let her know forgiveness was possible and allowed her the opportunity to restore her honor.
Watching what we say does two things: It protects us from putting ourselves in a position where our words can be used against us, and second, it will protect others from the same fate.
One last thought. Most of us will look in the mirror before we leave to make sure we look presentable. Most of us attempt to look good on the outside—to dress modestly instead of a provocative manner. Shouldn’t our words have the same impact? When we look in the mirror we see the reflection of what is there. Our words are also a reflection and can have a great impact and influence on others.
In this world of Social Media where people are posting negative and often destructive thoughts and words—it would do us well to pay attention to Solomon’s wisdom here. When you feel like chewing someone out via the internet, twitter, etc., re-think that. Speak with great modesty and be positive toward others.
Pastor J. T. Carnell.