All the words of my mouth are righteous, there is nothing crooked or twisted in them. Proverbs 8:8 (NRSV)

Do you remember the lyrics of the great Louis Armstrong song, “What a Wonderful World?” If not, then most of them are printed below.

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They’re really saying I love you

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

George David Weiss and Robert Thiele are the songwriters.

No doubt about it, you and I do live in a wonderful world where we experience the beauty described in that song. Of course, there are things that detract us from this wonderful world. Consider the following!

It would be a wonderful world if people spoke the truth and did not deal in half truths or total falsehoods. It would be a wonderful world if voices were not raised to shouting levels. It would be a wonderful world if we did not hear obscenities and profanities pouring forth from people’s mouths. It would be a wonderful world if we never heard lies spoken and convincing voice coaxing us to accept them as truths. For the first five days of Creation, righteousness and truth existed in the world. On the sixth day with the creation of humankind in God’s own image, the possibility for speaking falsely and wickedly came into being.

In God’s world righteousness and truth dwell. It is a truly wonderful world! You and I have the opportunity to make our world a bit more wonderful as we speak righteously and speak the truth, as we speak words of praise rather than condemnation, as we speak words of encouragement rather than criticism, and as we speak gently and kindly one to another.

Prayer

Dear God, forgive me when I have spoken less than the truth, when I have not been careful with my language, and when I have allowed my temper to control me rather than me controlling it. Help me to speak the truth and so make this world a bit more wonderful for all who hear me speak. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.