12A, 2002 Imitation I, 10

“Whoever acknowledges me before men I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven.”

Speech is a weapon, a potent instrument that, like any other, can be used for good or ill. We do not often avert to the power of words. We are quick to dismiss them as “mere words”. Religion on the other hand puts high emphasis on words. God communicated with us through them; the Son of God Himself is called “the Word” who became incarnate. The commandments about guarding the holiness of God’s name; about honoring one’s parents; and the prohibition of bearing false witness show the significance of a right use of speech. Moreover, the Bible itself is the collection of the sacred words of God.

As weapons of evil, words demonstrate their power in inciting the passions of hate, resentment, anger, lustful desire, jealousy, and the delight of speaking about the dark side of our neighbor: his faults, his sins, his weaknesses, his inferior status, abilities, natural gifts and want of goodness. There is an inclination in fallen nature to lean in the direction of wickedness in our talk. Jeremiah could hear his enemies buzzing as they plotted his demise. “All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine.” His innocence, like that of our Lord’s after him, is countered by evil machinations and nefarious designs to repay his goodness by their malice. It sometimes happens that those who are good are too much to bear, for the very reason that their uprightness becomes as a kind of accusation of one’s own wickedness. We are comfortable in saying that we are all sinners; but we are made uneasy in the presence of a truly good person who reproaches us by his sheer presence. But if this saintly presence is all too rare to be the cause of a downfall in our speech, there is ample opportunity to sin by the tongue through the common and obvious faults of our neighbor. Detraction thus succeeds where slander fails because it appeals to our sense of justice. If, after all, we are speaking not about some false attribution, we certainly can feel justified in speaking about the true sins of our neighbor. Do we not have to be “informed”? Should we not desire to warn others of another’s sins? Are we not acting nobly in transmitting the bad word? Do we not even take pride in being the first to know, the authority and source of such knowledge?

Conversations often devolve into probing the faults of others for the reason that there is a delight in it. Were it not pleasurable, there would be little interest. The tongue is like the other wayward things that must be mastered in our spiritual life: the appetites for food, for lustful excitements, for self-promotion, vanity. Talking with others is certainly something that can be not only a source of much delight, but of good as well. One of the legitimate pleasures of life to be engaged in talk about good things, great things, inspiring and elevating things, in stories that please, that amuse, that bring relief to the mind and heart, lifting us from our narrowness and taking in the thoughts, experiences, the knowledge and the goodness of another person. God has made us social beings and conversation among us can be a noble expression of our rational and social natures. As I said already, like many other things, it requires the discipline of temperance and prudence to safeguard against the tendencies towards the abuse of speech.

This discretion that ought to govern the topics of our discourse should also extend to limiting the amount of time we engage in talking. One of the OT proverbs says that where there is much talking, sin cannot be wanting. The author of the Imitation looks back with regret over past conversations, lamenting, “Often I wish I had remained silent and had not been among men.” Here he is speaking not of remorse over sinful talk, but merely over the time wasted in good talk. Dissipation, the feeling of having said too much, the guilty sense of having overextended the boundaries of prudence is the disquieting effect of having lost control in the amount of talking. This in turn has another bad consequence: the talkative person will have a much harder time in being still, in being silent, and in that gaining that recollection necessary to live an examined life and–more important–for being in union with God through the silent love expressed in personal prayer. Thomas A. Kempis expresses this well:

The reason why we are so fond of talking with each other is that we think to find consolation in this manner, and to refresh a heart wearied with many cares. And we prefer to speak and think of those things which we like and desire, or of those which we dislike. Alas, however, all this is often to no purpose, for this outward consolation is no small obstacle to inner and divine contemplation. We must watch and pray that our time may not be spent fruitlessly.

The finest use we can make of our talk, of course, is prayer and–with others–to speak about spiritual things and those that build up good in others. Often we are inspired to continue on our course, when we have been uplifted through the exchange of devout people who share holy conversation. We come away refreshed, not wearied; moved, not guilt-stricken. Our Lord’s message today includes an incentive to speak of our faith with others: “Whoever acknowledges me before men I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven.” There is then a time for speaking, for “speaking-out” rather than remaining in silence. Prudence discerns the difference: the time for speaking and the time for refraining from speech.

Much more could be spoken about speaking, but that would transgress due limitation. Rather, let’s apply what we have learned from the holy Word of God and from the wise counsels of the Imitation and use our tongues now in the praise and adoration of God as we continue our worship of Him in the holy sacrifice we are about to offer.