Watch Your Tongue

There seem to be more and more people expressing themselves, saying just about anything that comes to mind. People who used to be quiet are telling others what’s on their minds, seemingly without a thought of how their words will be received. Some people are speaking with a boldness that was unheard of over the last 10 to 15 years to the point that one wonders, “what were they thinking”. Two recent examples illustrate that it is vitally important to think before one speaks. African-American actor Terry Crews put out a tweet that he undoubtedly wishes that he’d waited before pressing the 'send' tab. Crews’ tweet said, “Defeating white supremacy without white people creates black supremacy. Equality is the truth. Like it or not, we are all in this together.” That might have been well received, had Crews not included “black supremacy”. In a time when this nation needs to be unified, as the protests across the nation have people talking about race relations and police brutality, injecting the words “black supremacy” is not suitable for building race relations. Crews went into damage control mode, not explicitly apologizing, but trying to explain what he meant. Crews said that he “knew” that black supremacy doesn’t exist, that if both blacks and whites don’t work together, bad attitudes and resentment can create a dangerous self-righteousness. This is not the first time Crews has defended his tweet relating to race. Ill advised? Good intentions? In another incident, someone sent a tweet that may have serious repercussions that centered on George Floyd’s death, may cause him to lose his business. According to media reports, CrossFit founder and CEO Greg Glassman, in a response to a health-based organization tweet saying that racism is a public health issue, Glassman allegedly tweeted that it’s "Floyd-19". One would think that a businessman would stay away from casting George Floyd in a negative light before tweeting a racial pandemic reference to the death of a black man that has been (and continues) seen around the world. Now Glassman is losing Reebok’s sponsorship, as the sports apparel giant says that it is ending its’ contract with CrossFit at the end of the year. Glassman has apologized, saying that he made a mistake with the words that he used and that it was “not racist”, just a mistake. Ill advised? A mistake?

The Bible teaches us to “be swift to hear, slow to speak” because once the words go out whether spoken or tweeted, one can’t bring them back. The Bible also teaches us to bridle our tongue because it can get us into situations that are not good for us. Anger can cause one to lash out, which is usually followed by harsh words that serve no useful purpose. The tongue is as a fire that can lead to destruction if it is not controlled. The old saying that goes, “if you have nothing good to say, say nothing at all” can apply to all of us. It could save you some heartache.