The Washington herald., 1922-07-03
IDLE WORDS CAUSE
MUCH MISERY, SAYS
REV. c. 5. ABBOTT
They Help to Spoil Unsul-
lied Minds of Children
Who Absorb Them.
WARNS GROWN UPS
Careful Choice of Speech viii
Lessen Woe in World,
He Declares.
ny REV. c. q. ABBOTT.
Pastor the Church OF the Good
shepherd.

Pastor the Church Of the Good
Shepherd.
II say unto you that every idle
word that men shall speak they
shall give account thereof in the
day of judgment st. Matthew.
1896.
No one questions the truth of the
old adage that Satan finds penty
of work for ide hands, but a grea;
many persons seem to question the
accuracy of the statement that
Satan finds more work for ide
words than he finds even for idle
bodies.
Perhaps this is the reason why
there are so many more idle words
in the world than there are idle
hands. and strangest of all. while
idle hands are actually doing moth
ing. idle words are very busy.
No one seems to care very much
about idle words; they are cast out
into the world to shift for them.
selves. We seem to forget that
they form a very great and ungov-
ernable army bent for the most
part on mischief.
what Ii idle wordf
What is an idle word? An idle
word has all the vices and few Of
the virtues of the idle man. An
idle man without purpose in life
degenerates unto an irresponsible
man, a bore to his friends and a
menace to society. An idle word is
like the idle man. only far more ac-
tive. II is a word uttered without
thought of its consequences. an
irresponsible force let loose upon
long suffering world.
When st. John wished to express
the great truth of the incarnation,
that the invisible God became ac-
tive in human form. he made use
of the very remarkable language.
The Word became flesh and dwelt
among u.s."
The thought that this may sug-
gest is obvious. In very true
sense every word spoken becomes
incarnate in outward action some
where and reveals the character of
the person uttering them.
BY your words you shall be justi-
fed, and by your words you shall
be condemned.
Your inner soul cannon be known
except by the words you speak.
We are so careless with our
words that they do not represent
us at our best but at our worst.
and so take out into the world an
influence we would recall IL we
could. But words once spoken do
not belong to us; they belong to
society at large. Hosts Of these
Idle words are constantly giving
false impressions. and soiiing the
mental and moral atmosphere and
are attacking our civilization. They
form a terrible and undisciplined
horde of vandals all the more ter
rible because they are the stray
children Of our fancy or perhaps of
our worst moments who return to
plague US.
Visualize that vast army of vile
words. full of thought-disease
germs that flood the highways of
both city and country. Idle words
spoken and repeated without much
thought contaminate, nevertheless.
both mind and soul.
A netghbor by accident throws
mud over your child's new suit and
promptly apologies and offers to
send the suit 10 the cleaners. The
habit of throwing mud over new
clothes. IL persisted in, would land
your friend in prison. The habit
of throwing vileness over your
child's new mind by idle speech H.
going on hourly in every part of
the land. Most of this Is doubtless
unintentional but it is the result
of irresponsible idle words.
Idle words again menace our in
stitutions and our civilization.
Public opinion is formed by words.
Test Of Good Citizen.
The test of good citizen is
whether he Is willing to subordi-
nate his private interest to the pub
lie good when there is a conflict
between the two. Laws are passed
by the majority which hit at pri-
vate habits and a flood of idle
words are let loose upon a long
suffering people. These idle words,
spoken for the most part by per-
sons entirely safe from violence
which result from them, take out
ward form in lawlessness and crime
and suffering among the less for
tunate.
Or again the land Is full of mere
ly destructive criticism of institu-
tions built up through centuries
of conflict and experience. and yet
where is there to be found place
where there is more prosperity and
happiness than in this land, even
with all of its faults and short
comings?
What Is the cure? Let our words
represent us at our best; let US
have a public opinion that will de-
mand that each. one Of us be re-
sponsible for the words that we
speak. Let us comba. the hordes
of idle words with the disciplined
ranks of words by which we are
willing to be judged and of whose