Oddbean

I was reading Psalm 52 this morning, which says "Your tongue devises destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceitfully." I had to ask myself, how is the tongue like a razor? A razor can do a lot of damage to the body, but the tongue hardly compares. Normally I think of this in terms of hurting someone's reputation or feelings. But deceit, slander, and malice can do damage even if you're tough enough to not get your feelings hurt, because the body this razor attacks is not that of the individual, but that of the community. A physical razor can amputate body parts, but a razor made of words can amputate people from one another. Deceit and slander turn people who should be unified against each other. The love and affection forged by years of fellowship can quickly be disrupted by malicious words, even those of a third party. Beware of those who wield words like weapons, rather than "speaking the truth in love", encouraging others, and building others up. Community is fragile, and needs to be nurtured and protected.

Razors are also incredibly precise tools and sometimes precisely cutting something off the body (surgery) is necessary for the long term life and health of the person, even if it causes temporary pain and discomfort. In other words, I agree that we shouldn’t slander and cut others down maliciously, but also don’t forgo saying something that could be temporarily hurtful if it’s beneficial to the long term health of the relationship/community.

Totally. It’s funny how posts are interpreted by others sometimes. Sarcasm is a difficult one (not in this case) but also just how the words/language one chooses to use can be understood differently from one person to another. It’s why in-person chat is often so different.

That is such an unnecessary extreme to take it to. You can and should tell someone something that may hurt them momentarily if it helps them and the community in the long run. That doesn’t require excommunication.

Excommunication is widely misunderstood. It's very different from shunning, in which the other person is "dead" to you. Excommunication's goal is reconciliation and healing. The nominal separation is only a recognition of what is already true, just as amputation of necrotic flesh is a recognition of cell death. Romans 11:23 talks about this reconciliation in this way: "And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again."

Good take... I'd also go to the other end of the spectrum and talk about the sin of omission, when you should say something but refrain...I feel like there is a lack of authenticity and truth in the world we live today. As Christians we have to walk the narrow road and call out untruths even in the face of persecution

Exactly . the truth is often the hardest thing to hear for most people, we live in a matrix of our own insecurities, delusions, and paradigms that others can easily dismantle. Being a Christian we are called to follow in the steps of Jesus and speak only truth, even if it leads to our deaths. Becoming a Saint or a martyr is much better than surviving as a slave or a liar. "The truth is like poetry.. and most people fucking hate poetry." - anonymous

This is why I have argued in the past that “free speech” is not a right. It is a responsibility, and protecting responsible speech is more important than holding the view that defense of any and all “free speech is a universal Good Thing.

Another perspective, watch what you say to yourself. Talking to yourself can change mind and your priorities. It can shift one's focus and attention from God to the world, leading to your own destruction, deceiving oneself on what is important.