“Our tongue is set in motion by nothing else but the heart. All the superfluousness accumulated in the heart is poured out by the tongue, and conversely, everything that’s lacking is acquired and takes root in the heart through conversation. But what feelings cause the heart to pour out through words? Undoubtedly, not good ones, because good feelings are always silent. Watch yourselves, beloveds! We talk a lot because it flatters our vanity and seems to show off our best side. Some talk a lot because of pride, conceit, and the notion that they’re smart and knowledgeable and that their judgments are strikingly correct. Such people experience a desire to express themselves and explain their thoughts with abundant speech, frequently repeating themselves, and insist that everyone admire their eloquence and intelligence. When the conversation concerns trivial matters, then verbosity turns into idle talk, which gives rise to infinite evil.” (St. Seraphim Chichagov)
“Where does the sin of idle talk begin? From the fact that someone is dissatisfied with himself, when he feels some of his shortcomings or feels shame because of a failure, or fear, and begins to feel a certain emptiness inside himself. Mental silence leads to introspection and self-condemnation, which cause him moral discomfort. And in order to fill this void he strives to talk as much as possible so that there would not be this painful inner silence. In addition, idle talk allows him, at least in the eyes of others, to create the illusion of success and self-confidence.” (Priest Alexei Taakh)
“Idle talk is a great sin….for someone to talk idly all day, not communicating with God or considering that this idle talk separates him from God, is one of the primary passions that one must battle. This is how it is when a person is not careful. Then the soul dies, and much work and struggle are needed for its restoration.” (Gerondissa Makrina Vassopoulou)
“By idle talk, people destroy every feeling of warmth, reverence, and virtue in their hearts, allowing passions and soul-destroying decisions to enter in. The Holy Fathers say that idle talk is a door to condemnation and slander, a peddler of false news and opinions, and a sower of discord and strife. It suppresses the taste for intellectual labor and almost always serves as cover for a lack of fundamental knowledge. From verbosity, once the fumes of self-satisfaction pass, there always remains a certain feeling of melancholy and laziness. After that, it’s not hard to explain the cause of verbosity and idle talk in men. Their hearts are empty, devoid of grace, and overflowing with passions, pride, conceit, and vanity….We’ve become talkative. Nothing sticks in our souls. We’re quick to accuse, quick to judge; we bite and tear at each other, insulting, accusing, slandering, and envying the glory of others. I don’t know where this disease came from.” (St. Seraphim Chichagov, St. John Chrysostom)
“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give and account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37). Commentary by several Holy Fathers on this passage shows that they took this statement by our Lord literally. That’s kind of scary when you think about it. If you take life expectancy stats, shave off a few years for the years before we learn to talk, take some stat about how many words men and women use a day, it easily nets out to the fact we will use hundreds of millions of words in our life time. That’s a lot of opportunity for idle and hurtful words that condemn us.” (Sacramental Living Ministries)
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