Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble… For whoever would love life… must keep his tongue from evil… He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. 1 Peter 3:8-11 (NIV)
Whoever would love life. That’s a great phrase! If you really want to live, here’s how to do it: Keep your tongue from evil. Turn from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it. When you do that, here is what will happen: God’s eyes will be on you. And His ears will be attentive to your prayer (3:12).
In John Bunyan’s excellent book, The Pilgrim’s Progress, the Christian life is pictured as a journey in which the Christian meets many characters, including Talkative:
“Let me tell you what type of fellow he is…
Like a chameleon, he changes his color every time he changes his environment.“Pure religion has no place in his heart or in his home.
His religion is only in his tongue.“His neighbors say of him that he is a saint abroad, and a devil at home. His family finds it so. He is rude and uncouth, with a temper like a buzz saw and a tongue like a scorpion.”
If we are to live in such a way that highly resistant people will come to glorify God, we must act redemptively and pray effectively. That means we must make sure that nothing hinders our prayers, and that begins at home.
Do you have some Talkative in you? What would neighbors say? Your family?