Moment in the Word

1 Peter 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God... that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
 
 
St. Peter provided a timely bit of advice to everyone, especially me, "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God." But what did the apostle mean by the "oracles" of God?
The mystery is solved when we read 2 Chronicles 5:7, "And the priests brought in the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord into its place, into the Oracle of the house, even into the Holy of Holies..." (Brenton's 1851 Greek Septuagint)
Thus, the "Oracle" was the Holy of Holies from where God spoke from the Ark of the Covenant.  Consequently, St. Peter admonished that when we talk, the world should hear God in our speech, but like the prophet Isaiah, I miserably fail, "Woe is me, for I am pricked to the heart; for being a man, and having unclean lips, I dwell in the midst of a people having unclean lips," Isaiah 6:5 - Brenton's 1851 Greek Septuagint.
Not only am I entirely too careless with the words I say, but I am part of a society that has totally lost all moral restraint regarding public and private communication. In my youth, men rarely ever cursed in public. And if women or children were present, a careless man would be censored by one of his fellows after accidentally uttering profanity. Besides that, the "F - word" was absolutely taboo!
Although the younger generation might scoff today, seventy years ago we literally lived in an "Andy of Mayberry" world where "words properly spoken were like apples of gold in baskets of silver!" Proverbs 25:11 Most people guarded their speech because they still believed "whatever filled their hearts determined what they said." Matthew 12:34
However, since then, the innocence of our communication has been abysmally defiled. Now, women are as utterly crude as men, dropping the "F - bomb" at any public venue without restraint, indecently flaunting their liberated, equal status. Our children are almost as bad by verbally celebrating a universal lack of respect.
St. James said this, "In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body but has a great influence. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze. The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." James 3:5-6 If the apostle's bleak warning was true for individuals, then consider the dire consequences for the whole civilization.
A moment ago, I lamented the bygone days of an innocent "Andy of Mayberry" world that has gradually transitioned into the brutish culture we presently know. But the moral degradation should not surprise us as we hurtle toward the Age of Antichrist who will publicly speak great blasphemies (Daniel 7:8, Revelation 13:5) and cause the ungodly to worship him for his wicked words (Revelation 13:8). These are the same adoring masses at the end of time, mentioned by St. Paul, "There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." 2 Timothy 3:1-4
In a word, our common speech has already betrayed the dangerous time in which we live.
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