After talking to a few people, I was able to put together the full story - one that amazed not only me, but the person who made the original off-handed comment when he found out how far it had gotten out of hand. It was never meant as anything mean-spirited, he just didn't want to inform a third party about the real nature of a conversation he was having. When that person was persistent in asking, he jokingly said 'they let Toni go yesterday.' She expressed shock, so he quickly recanted, admitting he was just kidding. Apparently that portion of the discussion didn't register with her.
Come Monday morning, she asked other co-workers if they'd heard the news about me. That knowledge set off a firestorm, leading to a check of my Facebook status to see if there was any mention of the incident (everyone knows it's not official until it's on Facebook!), and then my boss was consulted. A few minutes later, I arrived at work and my boss entered my office with the above-mentioned pronouncement.
James 3:5-6 says "It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell." (The Message)
Guarding our tongues is something most, if not all of us, struggle with. For example, it's easy to use a prayer request as a means of gossip..."you should really keep Helen in prayer - her son was just thrown in jail." As my pastor once cautioned - if you aren't part of the problem or the solution, you shouldn't be talking about the situation. Good advice.
It's also easy to say things we regret when we're in the heat of anger. James 1:19 cautions against it this way: "My dear brothers, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." (NLT) Your mother may have used the phrase mine did - 'you have two ears and one mouth so you can listen twice as much as you speak.' All of it is wise counsel.
Even said in jest, the words spoken by my co-worker very quickly stirred up quite a commotion. Amusing in the end, as we traced back how things went wrong and where they got out of hand, but the momentary gossip they created could have been hurtful or harmful.
So, no, thank God, I wasn't fired today...but I saw quite clearly how the tongue has the power to take the smallest little comment and wreck havoc.
This grabbed my attention as my boss actually did let me go after five years of loyal dedication...excellent points though and now I can continue to follow! Stop by my Blog when you can! In His Grace, Dawn @ Beneath The Surface: Breath of Faith
ReplyDeleteThanks Dawn, and I'm sorry you experienced that for real. It happened to me once years ago - I've lived through being fired, a company closing, being downsized, and being rescued from the chopping block at the last second, so it took me a second to exhale after this encounter...I understand what you must be dealing with. But I did read your blog and I understand too how sometimes God stops us in our tracks to grab our attention and reset priorities. Thanks for visiting and I hope we can encourage each other through writing about our experiences with our loving, gracious Father :)
ReplyDeleteHeart stopping, right? I'm just glad (and not surprised) that it's not true. People sometimes just don't think before they talk. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer over a decade ago, a friend (who thought she was being helpful) related the story of her mother-in-law's treatment - that ended in her death. Gee, thanks Jacquette!
ReplyDeleteI totally understand. When I was pregnant everyone wanted to share how difficult or long their delivery was! No, people often don't think before they speak! And thanks for not being surprised that it's not true :) Appreciate that Lucille :)
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