When We Can’t Say Nothing at All

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 “I said, ‘Mourn for me; I’m ruined! I’m a man with unclean lips, and I live among a people with unclean lips. Yet I’ve seen the king, the Lord of heavenly forces!’” 
“Then I heard the Lord’s voice saying, ‘Whom should I send, and who will go for us?’ I said, ‘I’m here; send me.’”

- Isaiah 6:5 & 8 CEB -


We don’t often use the phrase ‘unclean lips,’ but it doesn’t take much to think about what it could mean. In our society, we classify certain things as ‘dirty words’ or ‘dirty language.’ But I do not think cussing or talking about lewd subjects is the only ways our lips can be unclean. How often do we think about the implications of what we say?

Sure we realize that we might not always say the best things. Instead of saying a loving or kind word we simple just say something OK. Sometimes we do not say anything at all and hope that is better than what we wanted to say. After all, there is the motherly proverb of “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.” Yet when we talk about cleanliness, we really just have two categories.  It is either clean or dirty. We don’t say something is indeterminately clean or on the fence of being dirty. It is either one or the other.

I believe the same could be said for what comes out of our mouth. It either gives life or wastes life. If it is not life-giving – showing the love that we have from Jesus – then it must be wasting a chance to do just that. Even a moment of silence could be a waste if in fact a word of love and life could have been used.

What I love about the verses above is that prophet Isaiah feels deeply inadequate because of the condition of what normally comes out of his mouth. Yet God comes and reminds him how he is continually cleansed, made new and in fact given new words to share. In fact God asks who will go and Isaiah can’t help but respond with the words “Here I am! Send me!” Sure we mess up our words intentionally or even without thinking sometimes, yet God is in the business of calling out new words from within us and giving us what we need to be able to go out and share God’s love with others!

To Read More: Isaiah 6:1-13, James 3:1-12, Psalm 19:14

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