Will Rogers was a cowboy philosopher and comedian who once said, “So live that you wouldn’t be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.”
When I was born my grandmother bought a parrot that was my exact age. All the family decided to watch to see which of us would learn to talk first. The parrot won.
My uncle was a young man then, living in his parent’s home, and he taught that parrot to say swear words. My grandmother was furious. She certainly would not have wanted to sell that parrot to the town gossip.
Our words are important. We learn in Romans that the unrighteous have mouths full of cursing, and James tells us that a man who does not offend in word is a perfect man.
The Lord knows our thoughts and our words even when said under our breath in the bedroom. King Solomon tells us, “Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.” He said this long before it was possible to bug rooms so as to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations.
We need to guard carefully not only our words which we may say in our bedroom or in front of our parrot, but even our thoughts, as Solomon so wisely taught. We are what we think about. When we think evil of another, it seems that a bird of the air reports our thoughts.
The key is to think no evil. If we can cut off evil thoughts, the birds will have no evil message to carry. Certainly the Lord knows what we think, even before we think it. David was astounded at God’s knowledge of every infinitesimal detail: “0 LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, 0 LORD. You hem me in, behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”
It is important for us to be aware that not only what we say but what we think is known, and we want our words and thoughts to be pleasing to the Lord.
How do we do it? The answer to this problem is to guard our thoughts, even when thinking of our enemies. Remember the three little monkeys? One was to hear no evil while the other two were to see no evil and speak no evil. We need to follow the example of these wise monkeys. If we guard what we hear and see, it will certainly make it more difficult to speak evil.
Also, we should not be in too much of a hurry when we are facing a problem. James tells us to be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.
Solomon again warns us by saying, “Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
Now the other side of this coin is the fact that we should not be too concerned when we hear what others have said about us. Solomon covers this aspect also. He said, “Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you, for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.”
So the lesson we want to learn is to be careful what we think, for our thoughts are often mysteriously transported to others. The key is to cut off bad thoughts at the “pass” and not allow our minds to even think evil of others, let alone say it. The Lord knows our thoughts, and so we pray that the meditation of our hearts, as well as our words, will be acceptable to Him.
Moreover, don’t pay too much attention if you hear someone else say something that is unkind. In times past we may have sometimes said something for which we are sorry. How thankful we are for forgiveness!
Let us remember “That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Make sure your parrot will not embarrass you.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One