What Were You Saying?

Did you ever come up suddenly upon a group  of people who had their heads together, talking? Then suddenly one of the group would look up with an odd expression on his or her face and say, "Oh, we were just talking about you!"

What were they saying about you? Was it something good or something bad? Would you have liked to hear it? Would it have hurt you if you knew what it was they were talking about? Maybe they were planning a surprise for you—a pleasant one, that is. Or were they planning some way to "ditch" you and leave you behind?

The answers to these questions depend upon the group, don't they? If you know the people pretty well you can just about guess whether the conversation was favorable to you or not. Some people are just naturally kind, but others are hard put to it to do and say anything kind or nice.

What kind of group is it when you are in it? Do you join in and say things that everyone can hear, or are some of the things just for certain ears? Would you be ashamed if the "wrong" person overheard what you have to say in such a group?

Paul gave some good advice along this line. "Let your speech be always with grace . . . that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man" (Colossians 4:6). When we talk we should not say anything that is not fit for all to hear. A Christian never needs to be embarrassed when someone overhears him talking. He speaks with the knowledge that Christ is in the conversation.

Let the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my mind be found good and acceptable to you, O Lord.