I had a frustrating day a few weeks back and decided I was going to pick up something for dinner rather than go home and cook. As I called in the order the person on the other end didn’t have the best “phone voice” and was difficult to understand. After I thought I had finished the call, I made a disparaging remark about how this place needed to get someone that could speak to answer the phone. It was then I realized that my phone was still turned on. I don’t know if the person heard me or not but I sure avoided eye contact when I picked up my order and double checked to make sure my food was in proper shape. It reminded me of Ecclesiastes 10:20 which says, “Furthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.” We all must be careful in what we say because we never know who might hear it. A careless word can not only cause us embarrassment and problems but also can lead to far worse fates. Words have power. Words used improperly and foolishly can have the power to destroy!
In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back. I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...
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