In Matthew chapter twelve starting at verse thirty-three Jesus speaks some pretty strong words to the religious leaders of His day. Words that most will cheer at until they are turned on them.
The account reads, "Either make the tree good and it's fruit good, or make the tree bad and it's fruit bad, for the tree is known by it's fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of the good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgement people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
Through the context is Jesus warning the religious leaders, the text doesn't tie this warning to just them or their day. In fact Jesus says, "...on the day of judgement people will give account for every careless word they speak..." This should terrify us. How many careless words have you spoken? Could you even keep count? Did you do so today?
Jesus does give us an indication though of where these careless words come from. Right before saying this He stated that "...out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." It's ones heart, Jesus' says, that our words flow out of. So the question then should be, what are the things I'm saying?
The words we say, as well as the words we type, give us a clear picture of what is in our hearts. We can claim, as the Pharisees did, to know God, yet not speak in ways that glorify Him.
Keep this in mind the next time you are interacting with anyone, believer or not. Do the words you say (or type) come from arrogance, pride, or self-righteousness? Do they communicate the mercy and grace that you have been shown by Jesus? Or do they point to the truth that you know the words of scripture, but you fail to understand what it really means?
We are all going to give an account one day for the words we speak, and by connection the words we type. I think that given how we communicate through different social media platforms we need to step back and access our words. Repent when we recognize what we have done, apologize to those when necessary, and seek to follow Jesus more closely.