Isn’t it interesting how baseball guys tend to misremember the facts of their careers? The same old stories get better and better with every retelling. “The older I get, the better I was.” In most cases, it’s for effect and is entirely innocent. However, if we aren’t careful, our embellishment forms a habit that is hard to break and can ruin our reputations.

Proverbs 12:22 talks about it this way: “Lying lips are an abomination to The Lord, but those who deal faithfully are his delight.”

There’s obviously a difference between telling an old baseball story and being a liar. At the same time, we need to be vigilant that our words are both truthful and pleasing to the Lord. Here are a few applications:

Pay attention to what you say. Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it helpful?

Pay attention to why you say it. What are your motives? Would you say the same thing around a different crowd, one that knows you better? Who are you trying to impress?

Pay attention to how you say it. What emotions guide your tone? Does your volume increase to catch the ear of someone?

A habit of stretching the truth, avoiding inconvenient truth, or of denying the truth altogether is, as the verse says, an abomination to the Lord. He despises it. Why? Because he is a God of truth, one who never lies. Consequently, those whose words are faithful and trustworthy “are his delight.”

I believe every word we say matters. Every word. To those who hear it. To God himself. If that’s true, I’d better start paying closer attention to what I say, why I say it, and how I say it.

Lord Jesus, make me as truthful as you are, inside and out. I want my words to be pleasing to you. Amen.