On Sunday morning, I sat in a room with my brothers and sisters as is common each week. We joined together in heart and prayed to our Father, then joined our voices in praise to Him. Just before our period of singing was concluded, the song leader announced the final number, then instructed the male voices to wait until the chorus to join in. And so, in a relatively quiet auditorium, the ladies’ voices rang out:

Angry words, o let them never from the tongue unbridled slip. May our heart’s best impulse ever check them ere they soil the lip.

My heart was deeply touched in the moment, and it seemed appropriate for the sisters to admonish one another in these thoughts. For how many of us have ever been hurt by the angry words of a sister in Christ? By gossip, backbiting, or rudeness? It’s probably safe to assume we all have, because no one within Christ’s body is perfect. And, since no one is perfect, it’s probably safe to say that we have all been guilty of the opposite, too: of hurting a sister by our unwise, uncontrolled words. That’s why singing the song the way we did Sunday morning made me think.

Scripture often admonishes women when it comes to their speech and how they interact with other women. 1 Timothy 3:11 speaks to elders’ wives about not being slanderers. 1 Timothy 5:11-14 speaks of young widows who are drawn into the temptations of gossip and being busybodies, saying things they shouldn’t. In Philippians 4, we read of two women who simply can’t get along and it’s hurting the church. Obviously, we as women struggle with not hurting others when it comes to our tongues, and the Holy Spirit recognized this and thus, all the attention given to women guarding themselves from this temptation.

I know that this is something I need to remind myself of. Sometimes, it’s easy to think that I don’t struggle with this, but I do. God knows I do; God knows a lot of His women do. Which is why I was thankful for the reminder on Sunday morning to not let any unwholesome word proceed out of my mouth, but only that which will impart grace to both the hearer and the subject of my words. May we all put this reminder into action this week, especially as it deals with our interaction with and about our Christian sisters.