Do We Hear Ourselves?
The words we speak are sending a deeper message about who we are and what we value.
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Luke 6:45
“Do you hear yourself?”
More than once in my life, someone close to me has asked that question. It has, at times, been asked in a gentle spirit of encouragement when I slip into self-disparagement and defeatism. Admittedly, though, the question has more frequently served as a wake-up call of rebuke, forcing me to stop and consider whether my words represented what I claim to believe and the person I want to be. It forces me to look within, remembering my words do not emanate from a vacuum, but reflect the deeper stirrings, questions, and commitments of my heart. This comes as no surprise to those who have read the words of Jesus, who taught that what is stored in the heart eventually claws its way to the surface to be revealed through our words. Far more often than I care to admit, I need to be confronted with the words, “Stop - do you hear yourself?”
In a time of polarized wordiness, filled with arguments, debates, and accusations, this question of conviction and correction is desperately needed but too often ignored. In a world of busyness and distraction, one not conducive to reflection and examination, perhaps the voice of the Spirit is calling us to stop and pay attention to what we are saying and what is happening within us. In sincerity and love, and out of deep concern for the witness of the church, I would ask all of us as followers of Jesus, “Do we hear ourselves?”
The world has watched and listened as professed Christians publicly attack those who call us to pursue peace rather than violence - including the Pope, no less. To question leaders who attempt to sanctify our warfare by attaching God’s name to it now brings retribution from fellow believers. These responses are not offered in sincere dialog or debate around just war theory or the theological complexities of navigating evil in the world, but rained down as hostile attacks, filled with disparagement and accusation. Clearly, some are far more upset about the Pope calling for peace than they are about school children being bombed. All while claiming to follow the Prince of Peace.
Do we hear ourselves?
The world has watched and listened as people with “Jesus follower” in their bio justify abusive and inhumane treatment of immigrants, hiding behind arguments of legality in attempting to defend harm against the defenseless. We have sided with the rich and powerful against the interests of the poor and vulnerable, while claiming to “take the nation back for God.” All belief in the image of God in others is suspended for the sake of our political talking points, while the kingdom truth that everyone is our neighbor is traded for America-first rhetoric. In self-interest, we add “except when” to Jesus’ call to love our neighbor as ourselves, providing a convenient escape clause to use at our discretion.
Do we hear ourselves?
The world has watched and listened as those who claim to be God’s people demonize those who disagree, whose experiences differ, or just aren’t “like us.” We’ve developed an unhealthy need for archenemies, people who need not only to be defeated, but utterly destroyed. Convinced those on the other side are only interested in destroying the country, we dare to put words in Jesus’ mouth, claiming his authority to destroy them first. We have dared to proclaim that the One who carried a cross, who said his kingdom is not of this world, somehow blesses our destruction of others.
Do we hear ourselves?
If we truly listen to the words we speak, would anyone recognize the Jesus who preached the Sermon on the Mount, told the parable of the Good Samaritan, rebuked disciples for wanting to call down fire, and told them to put away the sword? Do others hear, anywhere in our words, the call to love our neighbor, even the ones who consider themselves our enemy? Does our speech reflect the same concern Jesus had for the least of these, the stranger, the outsider, and the vulnerable? Do our sentences form a cross or weapons?
I’m not sure we hear ourselves.
And underneath our words, there is something lurking in the hidden spaces of our heart. It’s not just a matter of the things we say, but the spirit that drives them. What the world has seen and heard is not just over-the-top pronouncements that clearly contradict the way of Jesus, but a stunning level of rage and a posture of fear-fueled bitterness. The very fact we need to ask this question is heartbreaking, but it must be asked: Why do calls for peace, love, compassion, and justice make some of us so angry? Why do the very things Jesus called us to pursue make us fearful and defensive? If we take Jesus seriously, we must suspect it has something to do with the alignment of our hearts, the idolatries within that cannot tolerate being challenged. “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
Honestly, there are moments when I am at a loss, and I know I’m not the only one. I’m confused by the words we speak and troubled by the obvious rage behind them. The ferocity with which some of us argue against the very same values Jesus embodied is disorienting and upends our kingdom witness. Some days it feels like our moral compass is not just broken, but non-existent. I do not excuse or exclude myself from that concern, because I know all too well the times my own words have betrayed something misguided within. The question I ask is rooted in love for the community I have belonged to all my life and in the desire for God’s people - myself included - to look more like the Jesus we claim to follow.
Out of love for the church, may we all ask, “Do we hear ourselves?”
Lord, have mercy on us.