Jesus was very direct, especially regarding hypocrites. So it s important for us to ask some questions about ourselves. Sirach gives us a hint in the first reading. He says, Look at the words of a person. When we were kids, we said, Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me, but that s not true.
Words kill, and words cause people to be killed spiritually, emotionally and physically.
Conversation is the test of a man. That leads to a question about our inner self and our outer self. Americans say yes that was a big issue a couple of years ago with the presidential scandal. Americans said yes, you can separate the two. God says you cannot separate the inner self from the outer self.