Speaking about what idle words are, you need to know something. Words are of great importance in our lives.
Every word matters. Paul writes that “ there is not one without value .” Words with the same pronunciation can have different meanings in different languages. For example, the word "bandage" said in England means "girl". And if you ask for a bandage in an English pharmacy without knowing English, you may be misunderstood. Or the Russian word for “Santa Claus” in English may sound like “dead morose”. And it translates to “gloomy dead man.” An American or an Englishman who hears children cheering when they say this word will be discouraged.
Meaning of the word idle.
Idle – inactive, without work; lazy, idle, doing nothing; unproductive, unsuccessful, fruitless.
Russian language dictionaries give the same meaning. Here the translators were accurate.
Empty, empty, unoccupied, idle, not filled with business, work, empty, meaningless.
It all has to do with the meanings available to our minds. But let's see what the Word tells us about what idle words are.
About the answer for every word
How can a person give an answer for every word spoken if we can remember what we said a month ago or even a week ago?
Man on earth combines two natures: spiritual and physical. Therefore, he has two memories: the memory of the soul and the memory stored by the most important organ of the body - the brain. The information that the brain perceives throughout life is updated. Gradually, as the brain ages, memory weakens. The soul remembers everything. It was created by the Creator in the image and likeness of God. Because of her godlikeness, she is connected to infinity, therefore, in its entirety, it is capable of containing and storing everything experienced.
The Venerable Abba Dorotheos writes: “Souls remember everything that was here, as the fathers say—words, deeds, and thoughts, and they cannot forget any of this then. And what is said in the psalm: “On that day all their thoughts will perish” (Ps. 145:4) speaks about the thoughts of this age, that is, about the structure, property, parents, children and every act and teaching. All this, when the soul leaves the body, perishes... And what it did regarding virtue or passion, it remembers everything and none of it perishes for it... And the soul does not forget anything that it did in this world, but remembers everything according to leaving the body, and, moreover, better and clearer, as if freed from this earthly body.”
There are examples that show that the memory of the soul stores everything experienced. Saint Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) cites some of them.
“Scientifically inexplicable facts are known and remembered. Under certain conditions, something long forgotten can come to life in it. It has long been known that before death, his whole life can flash through the consciousness of a dying person with amazing clarity and incredible speed. Fechner talks about a lady who fell into the water and nearly drowned. From the moment all movements of her body stopped and until she was removed from the water, two minutes passed, during which she, according to her, experienced once again her entire past life, unfolding before her spiritual gaze with all the smallest details.
Another example of such a flow of ideas, in which memories of many years pass through a person’s consciousness in a short time, is given by Admiral Beaufre from his life. He fell into the water and lost consciousness. “In this state,” he says, “one thought drove another with such speed that it is not only indescribable, but also inconceivable for anyone who has not experienced such a state.”
At first he imagined the immediate consequences of his death for his family, but then his spiritual gaze turned to the past: again he lived through his voyage, the earlier one accompanied by a shipwreck, his journey, his stay at school, his success in learning and the time wasted in vain, even everything their childhood years, trips and mischief. “So, as I went deeper into the past,” he said, “all the incidents of my life passed in my memory in the reverse order of their natural sequence, and not in vague outlines, but in the form of a completely definite picture with all the smallest details and accessories.
In short: my whole life passed before my soul as if in a panorama, and every step of it appeared before me, accompanied by the consciousness of its correctness or incorrectness, with a precise understanding of its cause and consequences. Many insignificant adventures of my life, in fact already forgotten, appeared before my spiritual gaze with the same clarity as if they had recently been experienced by me.”
One man, distinguished by a remarkably bright mind, was crossing the rails at that moment when a train suddenly appeared, approaching at full speed. He had no choice but to lie between the rails. And while the carriages were flying over this frozen man, a sense of danger brought back to his memory all the events of his life, so that it was as if a page from the book of destinies unfolded before his eyes.
In exactly the same way, when a person dies, his whole life can suddenly flash through his mind.
Seckendorff saw in his dreams such events of his past life, which he barely remembered, and with such clarity and vividness, as if they had taken place for the first time in his real life. With extreme clarity, he saw himself as a three-year-old child, and all the smallest details of his upbringing were resurrected in his memory. Every grade from his school life, every unpleasant incident passed through his mind as if alive.
Contemplating his life in the order of its actual course, he finally saw his stay in Italy, where he left a lady whom he would have married if fate had not forced him to quickly leave this country. The vividness of the feeling of separation from his beloved that he experienced in a dream served as the reason for his awakening. If such a sudden review of one’s entire life is possible for a dying person and even in a dream, then it becomes clear how at the Last Judgment the Book of Sins will be revealed in our consciousness.”
Saint Luke gives another example - from the life of a certain John Everdtfeger, “who, after a long illness, fell into a state of imaginary death that lasted several hours. When he opened his eyes, he told his confessor that he had been contemplating all his life, all the sins he had committed, even those that had long been erased from his memory. The whole vision was so vivid to them, as if he was experiencing it for the first time...
Therefore, it is necessary to recognize that, in addition to the brain, there must be another, much more important and powerful substrate of memory. And we consider the human spirit to be such a substrate, in which all our psychophysical acts are forever imprinted. For the manifestation of the spirit, there are no time standards; no sequence and causal connection of reproducing experiences in memory, necessary for the functions of the brain, is needed. The spirit immediately embraces everything and instantly reproduces everything in its integrity” (Spirit, soul and body. Chapter 7. Transcendental, spiritual abilities).
We must remember that all our deeds, words, thoughts and feelings do not disappear, but go into the endless memory of God and at the Last Judgment they will be presented to us: good ones - for salvation, and evil and sinful ones - for condemnation.
Pokrovhram.ru
For every idle word.
Paul says that confessing Jesus as Lord results in salvation. And if this verse speaks of judgment, it means the judgment of God. Therefore, your words either speak about your salvation or about condemnation.
Using the meaning of the word “idle” (fruitless, unsuccessful) we can see WHAT exactly is subject to God’s judgment, what words. What fills a person’s heart comes out in the form of words. It may seem to us that we are quite holy and blameless, but our words are like an indicator. Challenge yourself. Look at what you say when it comes to biblical truths. That is why your words are the reason for the court’s verdict.
Does anyone speak, speak as the words of God
I mean, we talk a lot in our lives. We sing songs to children, talk at work. It certainly has nothing to do with holy living, spiritual living. And these conversations will not lead us to condemnation. Because we will be judged BY THE WORD that Jesus spoke. Our words will be COMPARED to the Truth.
IF OUR WORDS DIFFERENT WITH THE WORDS OF CHRIST, this will be the reason for legal action against us. And the opposite is true - whoever speaks, speak as the words of God. And in this case you will be justified.
A person who uses for his life what was crucified by Christ - the sinful body of the flesh - is subject to judgment. Carnal thoughts come from the heart. If you have not died with Christ, then you cannot live with Him.
Idleness
And again the meaning of this word is inactivity, uselessness, fruitlessness. There are no words involved here, so we won't talk much about it.
Idle Word
I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment...
Jesus Christ (Savior)
GOSPEL
Jesus Christ (Savior)
But I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment: for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned (Matthew 12:36-37).
Saint Basil the Great
About idle talk, and about observing that speeches are useful
Should not make questions useless and controversial. (2 Tim. 2:14): “Remember this, charging before the Lord not to enter into disputes over words, which in no way serves to benefit, but rather to upset, those who listen.” (23): “Shun stupid and ignorant competitions, knowing that they give rise to quarrels.” One should not utter idle words that are of no use. For to say or do even good things that do not build up faith means to offend God’s Holy Spirit. (Matt. 12:36): “I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment.” (Eph. 4:29,30): “Let no corrupt talk come out of your mouth, but only that which is good for edification of the faith, that it may bring grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” To confirm what we do or say, we must first of all use the evidence of Scripture, and then what is known from common usage.
Every word or deed must be confirmed by the testimony of inspired Scripture, to vindicate the good and to the shame of the wicked. (Matt. 4:3,4): “And the tempter came to Him and said, If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. He answered and said to him, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Acts 2:4): “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (12-17): “And they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to each other: What does this mean? And others, mocking, said: they got drunk on sweet wine. Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and cried out to them: Men of the Jews, and all who live in Jerusalem! Let this be known to you, and listen to my words: they are not drunk, as you think, for it is now the third hour of the day, but this is what was prophesied by the prophet Joel: And it will come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, and they will prophesy (Joel 2:28)” and so on.
And what is known from nature and custom in the community should be used to confirm what we do or say. (Matt. 7:15-17): “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit,” and so on. (Luke 5:30-31): “They murmured and said to His disciples: Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.” (2 Timothy 2:4-5): “No soldier binds himself to the affairs of this life in order to please the commander of the army. Even if someone strives, he will not be crowned if he struggles illegally.”
Be lazy in idle talk, but be prudent and knowledgeable in the saving hearing of the Divine Scriptures.
We must not idle talk and say anything that does not serve either the benefit of those listening, or the use necessary and permitted to us by God...
Has anyone uttered an idle word, an insult to a neighbor, a lie, or anything else forbidden? Let him be sober by continence and silence.
Venerable Mark the Ascetic
If by chance someone falls into the circle of empty-mouthed people, let him consider himself guilty of such speeches, if not about the present, then about the past (because he himself chatted with them before).
Do not want to hear about the deceits of others, because in this case the features of those deceits are written in us.
Venerable Simeon the New Theologian
Fasting does not allow one to speak idle and rotten words.
Fasting, like a doctor of our souls, pacifies the flesh of one Christian, tames anger of another, drives away sleep from one, excites another to greater good deeds, cleanses the mind of one and makes it free from evil thoughts, and binds another’s uncontrollable tongue with the fear of God. like a bridle, it holds him back, not allowing him to speak idle and rotten words, and does not allow the eyes of others to look here and there and be curious about what one or the other is doing, but forces everyone to listen to himself and consider his own sins and shortcomings. Fasting little by little thins the sinful veil that lies on the soul and dispels its mental darkness, like the sun dispels fog. Fasting makes us capable of intelligently discerning the spiritual air in which the intelligent Sun of Truth, our Lord Jesus Christ, always shines. Fasting, taking vigil as its assistant, drives away the hardening of the heart, and from the one who was formerly an eater and a drinker (a lover of eating and drinking), it draws streams of tears of contrition - which we take care of, I ask you, brethren, to receive for all of us. For if we come to contrition, then, with the help of God’s grace, we will easily get rid of every rebellion of passions and the storm of enemy temptations, and we will reach the serene haven of dispassion.
***
An idle word is not only a useless word, but the word that we speak must also be called idle before we actually do it and know through skill what we are talking about.
Saint Gregory the Theologian
Drive away idle words
Curb your laughter and set a limit to your anger, and by all means drive away idle words. Just as you imprint on children the first rules of morality so that they subsequently avoid vices, so in relation to the word one should not be insolent and unbridled, even in judgments about unimportant things, so as not to become accustomed to such abuse in judgments about the most important. For it is easier not to succumb to vice at the beginning and to avoid it when it is only close to us, than to stop and rise above it when it has already made progress in us, just as it is easier to support and hold a stone at the beginning than to lift it up during its fall.
Reverend Ephraim the Syrian
A bad review of another is an idle word.
Since the mouth is open, has neither doors nor guards, then our word comes out indifferently, and with the word the heart is plundered...
The word can be idle, precisely when a person confesses and does not correct himself, when he says that he repents and sins again.
A bad comment about another is an idle word, because as soon as he sees the person being denigrated, he becomes silent.
He who has made up a lie on his own indulges in idle talk, because he recounted what was not done and what he did not see.
What is an idle word? — The promise of faith, not fulfilled in practice. A person believes and confesses Christ, but remains idle, not doing what Christ commanded.
That idle word that... teaches you to do good, but does not do it yourself.
Only those who are passing through spiritual life delight in such speeches, the subject of which is virtue; those inclined to a life devoted to passions do not tolerate hearing about the spiritual, but laugh at it, and whoever speaks is driven away from them. Conversing about passions and pleasures, they do not know satiety and agree to better deprive themselves of food and sleep than to put an end to such idle talk.
Whoever talks idlely during God's service will be subject to severe censure for distracting from prayer and psalmody both the one with whom he is speaking and, together, those who stand near him.
The idle word was punished as blasphemy.
The earth swallowed up the blasphemers who sharpened their tongue; She did not touch the unclean and fornicators, but she swallowed up the evil-tongued. The sea swallowed up the Egyptians, and the land swallowed up the rebels. An idle word spoken by a military leader during a famine was punished as blasphemy, and he was trampled by the people at the gate (2 Kings 7:2-17).
Saint John Chrysostom
An idle word is a word... false, breathing slander
Instead of words spoken recklessly, we will say prayers... An idle word is a word that is inconsistent with the deed, false, breathing slander, and also, according to some, an empty word, for example, arousing indecent laughter, shameful, shameless, indecent.
Abba Evagrius of Pontus
It is better to sleep than to spend time in idle talk.
Venerable Neil of Sinai
Excessive talkativeness gives over to the demons of sadness and anger...
Venerable Nicodemus the Holy Mountain
Idle talk is the door to condemnation
Idle talk is the door to condemnation and slander, the bearer of false news and opinions, the sower of discord and discord. It suppresses the taste for mental work and almost always serves as a cover for the lack of thorough knowledge. After verbosity, when the hour of complacency has passed, there is always a certain feeling of melancholy and laziness.
Venerable Peter of Damascus
Run away from people and you will be saved
Run away from people, and you will be saved, because conversations do not allow the mind to see not one’s own sins, nor the deceits of demons, so that a person can preserve himself, below the blessings of God and the actions of His Providence, so that through this he acquires knowledge of God and humility.
Abba Isaiah
When going out to share, do not idle talk and do not allow yourself to take liberties, but let everyone, in the fear of God, pay attention to himself and his spirit, as well as to teaching and prayer, in secret (in the cage of the heart).
Venerable Theodore the Studite
May you have no indecent laughter, no distracting and softening entertainment, no long idle conversations... Let us not be wise in words, but when it comes to action, we turn out to be alien to what we say.
Theoliptus, Metropolitan of Philadelphia
If anyone were to indulge in idle talk, then to stop this outrage, get up and bow.
Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov)
We must give account for every idle word
Beloved fathers! Let us pronounce the word of God to our brethren with all possible humility and reverence, recognizing ourselves as insufficient for this service and protecting ourselves from vanity, which greatly chills passionate people when they teach the brethren. Think that we must give an answer for every idle word, the more painful is the answer for the word of God spoken with vanity and prompted by vanity. The Lord will consume all flattering lips, a loquacious tongue, saying: Let us magnify our tongue, our lips are with us: who is the Lord to us? The Lord will consume those who seek their own glory, and not God’s. Let us fear the rebuke of the Lord! Let us pronounce the word of edification as required by essential necessity, not as teachers, but as those in need of instruction and striving to become partakers of the instruction taught by God in His all-holy Word. Every one receives a gift, says the holy Apostle Peter, serving among himself, as good builders of the various graces of God. If anyone speaks as the words of God, with the fear of God and reverence for the words of God, and not as his own words; If anyone serves as from the strength that God gives, and not as if from his own: let God Jesus Christ be glorified in everything. He who acts from himself acts for vanity, sacrifices himself and those who listen to him to Satan: he who acts from the Lord acts for the glory of the Lord, accomplishes his own salvation and the salvation of his neighbors by the Lord, the only Savior of men. Let us be afraid of teaching a beginner any thoughtless instruction that is not based on the Word of God and on the spiritual understanding of the Word of God. It is better to admit ignorance than to show knowledge that is harmful to your soul. Let us protect ourselves from the great disaster of turning a gullible novice from a servant of God into a slave of man, drawing him into the creation of the fallen will of man instead of the all-holy will of God.
Abba Sisoes once said: “Believe me, for thirty years now I have been praying to God like this: “Lord Jesus! Protect me from my tongue." But to this day I fall every day and sin with my tongue.”
***
Abba Macarius the Great once said to the brethren in the Skete, dissolving the meeting: “Run, brethren!” One of the elders asked: “Where will we run beyond this desert?” Abba, putting his finger on his lips, said: “Run away.”
***
They said about Abba Ammo that when he went to church, he did not allow his disciple to walk near him, but ordered him to follow from afar. If a student approached to ask about something, Ammoy, having given an answer, immediately sent him away, saying: “I do not allow you to stay near me for the reason that idle words do not creep into our conversation about spiritual benefits.”
***
Among the holy elders there was a great man to whom Christ gave such grace that he, through the action of the Holy Spirit, saw what others did not see. He said that one day many brothers were sitting and talking among themselves. When a soul-saving conversation was taking place and sayings from the Holy Scripture were cited for edification, then the holy Angels stood between the brothers, a joyful smile shone on their faces, they listened with pleasure to the conversation about the Lord. When the conversation turned to vain subjects, the Angels became upset and immediately went far from the talkers, and among them appeared unclean wild boars covered with strings. These were demons: they took the form of boars and amused themselves with the idle talk and verbosity of the monks. Seeing this, the blessed elder went to his cell and cried and sobbed all night, lamentations and tears poured out from his heart about the sad illness of our fall. He exhorted and instructed the fathers and brothers in the monasteries, saying: “Be careful, brothers, from verbosity and vain conversations, from which harm and destruction are born for the soul...”.
***
Abba Cassian talked about a certain old man living in the desert. Staren, this one begged God to grant him that he would never doze off when a spiritual conversation was going on, and would immediately fall into sleep if anyone began to slander or talk idle talk, so that it would not reach his ears. He said: the devil strives for idle talk (between people) and is the enemy of all spiritual edification. At the same time, he gave the following example. When I talked with the brothers about the benefits, they fell into such a deep sleep that they could not move their eyelids. Wanting to discover the demon's action, I started talking about an empty object. They rejoiced, and the dream immediately passed. And I said: “While we were discussing spiritual matters, the eyes of all of us were heavy with sleep. When the idle word came out from me, you all woke up willingly. Therefore, I ask you, notice the action of the evil demon, pay attention to yourself, beware of drowsiness when doing or listening to anything spiritual.”
One day, the brethren from Skete boarded a ship to go to Abba Anthony. Here they met an old man unfamiliar to them, who was sailing in the same direction. The brothers, talking among themselves, talked about the sayings of the fathers and from Scripture, and also about their handicrafts. The old man remained silent. Going out to the pier, they learned that he was also going to Abba Anthony. When they came to Abba Anthony, he said: “You have found good brothers, Abba.” “They are good,” answered the elder, “but their yard does not have a gate: whoever wants to, comes to the stall and unties the donkey.” He said this because they said whatever came to their mind.
***
In the country of Tavenisia there was a nun of an honest life, but not abstinent in speech. When she died, the donor was buried in the church. On the very first night after her burial, the church watchman, by the revelation of God, saw the deceased thrown out in front of the altar. Half of her body seemed to be on fire, but the other half of her body was not touched by fire. In the morning, the watchman showed everyone who was in the temple the place where the deceased nun seemed to him to be burning, and the marble in this place was scorched. It is clear from this that the woman who died in the afterlife is condemned for her tongue, and therefore idle talkers should not say that words are water and that nothing will happen to them in the future life for idle talk.
What to do?
This is a natural question. Because the essence of any teaching of Jesus Christ, the essence of the action of grace, is to teach us HOW to do the right thing. Let's look at spiritual laws. Idle words come out of us from the abundance of the heart .
In other words, what you and I fill our hearts with is what then comes out of our mouths. I think that each of us has faced the fact that we have to listen to other people's stories about sins. And you are faced with a choice - either agree, “yes”, or refuse to participate in this.
I think you already understand WHAT exactly needs to be done. There is no need to ask God to deliver you from these people, from these words. Because you have ALREADY been delivered and made perfect. You just have to DO what you are called to do, and the spiritual laws will produce in you everything that is needed according to the Word of God.
Speak as it is written in the Word, do not add or subtract from it. Don’t adjust it to “our realities.” Profess your faith and hold fast to your profession. Do not agree with this world, but also denounce it. Give no place to the devil, and you will be satisfied with the fruit of your lips .
For every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment (Matthew 12:36,37)
Summary.
Mf. 12:36,37 “But I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment: for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
In the life of St. Basil the New, Blessed Theodora, talking about the ordeals, begins them with the most seemingly innocent sin - idle talk, which is usually not given any significance. The Apostle James says the exact opposite: The tongue is an uncontrollable evil; it is filled with deadly poison (James 3:8). The holy fathers and even pagan sages call idleness and its natural and usual manifestation - idle talk - the mother of all vices.
Saint John Climacus writes in the 11th homily: “Much verbosity is the seat on which vanity loves to appear and solemnly display itself. Talking too much is a sign of foolishness, a door to slander... a servant of lies... a clouding of prayer.” Therefore, Rev. John, a companion of Barsanuphius the Great, said: “Silence is better and more amazing than all (narrations). Our fathers revered and kissed him and became famous for him.”
See: Handbook for a clergyman. M., 1978. T.2. pp. 437-443.
Prpp. Barsanuphius and John's guide to spiritual life. SPb. 1905. Reply No. 466.
Idle words are harm to oneself, abuse of the Divine gift
But idle words are something else. We are given a subtle instrument for philosophy, romance, art, and we begin to grind it down from idleness, dull it out of boredom over all sorts of nonsense. For example:
Slander . “Devil” translated means “slanderer.” Many religions (even the texts of the ancient Egyptians) say that the worst thing for a person is to lie, for God is the one who creates only the truth. A liar oppresses God within himself.
“Devil” translated means “slanderer.” Therefore, an easy way to become like him is to slander someone. In Doré's engraving there is the devil in the center of hell, an illustration to Dante's work. Photo: s6.drugiegoroda.ru
And it would be fine just a lie. Sometimes it happens that she can really help a person out. But slander is a lie told to the detriment of another person. There is no reason for a righteous Christian to resort to it.
Gossip . Retelling news from someone else's life will not bring any benefit. Today a person is discussing how a Hollywood star disgraced himself. Tomorrow he will wash the bones of his neighbors, then he will tell his comrades how bad his ex-wife was. What's the bottom line? Firstly, lost time. Secondly, the harm that there is a risk of causing to those you are talking about. Thirdly, pride in the fact that you are supposedly better in some way, but we’ll talk about that later.
Elder Cleopas from the Sikhastria monastery spoke on this topic:
“Our words are burdock seeds. Just as it is impossible to collect seeds, having once sown them, a year later, when the whole field is overgrown with thistles, so we will not be able to collect the evil and sin that we sowed with our tongue. Therefore, you need to carefully watch your tongue. Solomon said: “He who does not keep his mouth and tongue cannot be saved” (Wis. 1:11).”
Cleopas
Elder
Backbiting . This is a violation of the commandment of Jesus Christ, “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” True, it is worth distinguishing constructive criticism from a simple desire to scratch your tongue. If you use your criticism to advise a person on how to do better, that’s one thing. If you try to rise above him, it’s different.
Criticism differs from slander in that it has no desire to rise above a person
Priest Dimitry Shishkin said this about slander:
“Yes, this is why the sin of slander is terrible, because with our free will we combine with evil and become its participants. We show the world the darkening of our minds with thoughts of condemnation, enmity and malice.”
Dmitry Shishkin
Priest
Ridiculousness. This is not a very good translation of the Greek word. But God be with him. The essence of this sin is that a person tries to attract attention to himself by behaving ostentatiously stupid. And again the motive here is: “I’m funny, look at me.” By comparison, a good comedian is in business because he enjoys making people laugh. He does it sincerely, and the laugher may even hate his audience, but need their approval.
