For someone like me, who always takes things so seriously, and who may take offense, without even thinking, at the slightest joke or passing comment, these verses give a proper picture of a Godly response to the words of others. This verse means that we ought to have patience and generosity towards the words of others, because we all speak wrongly, mistakenly, and without proper reflection.

 

In an ideal world, we might all be able to fully take the words of every person as being the complete representation of honest intent and truth. However, in the real world, people say things they do not fully understand, they speak out of spite and emotional response, without controlling their tongues, they speak imperfectly and incompletely, without context or qualification where they ought to have more precisely spoken. Therefore, let us realize that we ourselves do these things likewise, and be gracious to those who may say something that may not seem generous to us. Of course, we should not consequently hold no one accountable for their words, but we should be understanding, and willing to provide for the limitations of the human thought.

 

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.