The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,
But the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. – Proverbs 15:28

But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. – Matthew 15:18

…for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. – Luke 6:45c

Okay, so I was watching when people started reacting to something Kathy Griffin did.  The instant and utter horribleness that came out of people.  Whether it be in writing or on social media, or actually spoken aloud. The hate that came as a result of hate astounded me.

And I saw when Tiger Woods was pulled over because his meds made him unable to fully function properly. And everyone instantly jumped on the bandwagon here, although not so much with hate, but more like pulling away from him, like acting as if they were better than him.

And as for me… I was so shocked and saddened by one woman’s heart.  She is so very far away from God.  To actually think that what she was doing was okay, well, something’s got ahold of her heart and it’s not God – or good.  The first thing I prayed for her was that God would send someone, someone she cannot get past, someone she can’t ignore.  Someone who is strong in the Lord and the strength of His might and cannot be swayed by her arguments.  She needs Jesus now more than ever.  Not that her sin was any greater than my sin or your sin.  It was just more public.

The same goes for Tiger.  When I saw the report, my first thought was wait, there’s more to it.  No, he hasn’t been in such great shape lately.  And yes, he has a history.  But who doesn’t!  And then it came out that he recently had back surgery and I knew it was pain meds.  But still…  Once again I prayed for God to send someone… the same sort as I prayed for Kathy.

It’s easy to jump on a bandwagon – especially when everyone else is.  We get caught up in the blame and judgement.  And some of us get caught up in the hate speech.  Really?  Us Christians getting caught up in hate?  Yes, it happens.  If you aren’t aware, go look at Facebook or Twitter and see people who are “Christian” speak about other people – people Jesus died for as much as you and me.

And yes, I have been guilty of this very thing.  I get caught up in party politics and sometimes in this type of judgement.  Sometimes it’s to inform and I’ve been guilty of just passing my own personal opinion on when it’s not right.  God’s working on this with me.  He’s started to change how I see things.

A long time ago I prayed and asked God to break my heart for what breaks His.  I know we sing it in a song – but I actually prayed it.  And slowly He’s been changing the way I see people and situations.  I see that if God reacted the same way with me and my sins, I would be a total mess.  I’m sure without Jesus I would be bleak and depressed, and unsure of my way, just like them.

So here’s the thing:  the Bible says don’t judge or we will be judged (Matthew 7:1-2) yet in today’s society I think we are all guilty of it.  And not on purpose either.  It’s just our first reaction. It’s part of how our society has taught us.

But it’s not what God wants.  Yes, I think Kathy should have lost her contracts.  Yes, I think there should be something done about Tiger’s meds… he’s on four.  That’s too much for anyone to think clearly!  And our heavenly Father punishes us accordingly.  There are and should be consequences to our actions.

But next time, maybe we could show a little grace – a little restraint in our reactions?  Maybe we don’t jump in to that hate-filled conversation.  Maybe we be the voice of reason instead. And maybe, just maybe, we stop and pray for that bombers family, that entertainer’s heart, for God to send someone they can’t ignore to tell them about Jesus.  Right when they need it most.