Words from a Cooking Show

   I read these verses yesterday morning but just did not have the time to write: (From Matthew 7 in The Message)

“Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don’t be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned."

   I know there is a lot of possible material in these verses, but one thing that caught my attention has to do with words and their importance in our lives.

   One of the few TV shows that we watch is one called Chopped on the Food Network. The format is that 4 chefs compete, using mystery baskets of ingredients, to see who will win the title of Chopped Champion for that particular show.

   Last night we watched a taped show featuring a chef that had a real inferiority complex, who had been continually told by his father that he would not amount to anything. This may have been a reason for him being on the show, to give the viewers someone to cheer for, but it dramatized the whole concept of the power of words. Even when this chef told the judges about the dishes he had prepared, he spent a lot of the time apologizing for them.

   Of course it is entirely possible that the show was rigged to let him come out the winner because of the story line, but regardless, he was the winner and was so outwardly happy that he could show his dad that he did amount to something.

   Even at that point I could not help but wonder how long his confidence would last. He had so long been confronted with his inabilities, that it would take more than just the affirmation of 3 judges to let him keep a new positive attitude for any length of time.

   I know the verse above speaks of words in the context not judging people by what they say and more by what they do and who they are, but the clear warning concerns the words that come out of their mouths. It is so easy to be taken in by smooth words.

   I think about the many words that I say each day. That is a start I know, but I want to think longer about the words that I will say than those that have already been thrown out there.

   There are at least two lessons in all of this:

   1. Think before you speak.

   2. The fewer words you speak, the less chance you have to get into trouble.

   These I need to remember....