'You're fired!'...the phrase made famous by the reality show "The Apprentice"...and two words you never want to hear. So imagine how my heart stopped for a second this morning when my boss walked into my office and said, 'so...I understand you've been fired.' Of course, I realized very quickly if that had been the case, it wouldn't have been handled in such a manner, but still my mind raced in a million directions for just a second or two.
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.
Once again today, I am honored to have one of my devotionals published on christiandevotions.us. You'll find the link here You're Fired. If you've ever been tempted to gossip (and be honest...haven't we all?), this reflection on James 3:5-6 may remind you that no good comes from it and sometimes, it can be very damaging.
