Open Mouth, Insert Foot

"Foot-in-mouth" disease is common in these days of political sensitivity. The poor become "economically challenged," while the elderly are "chronologically gifted."

Jesus was far more straightforward and uncluttered in his speech, and urged us to speak likewise: "Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." (Mt 5:37)  Having just decried the need for oaths, Jesus implied that oath-taking presupposes a sinful weakness of the human race, namely a tendency to lie that "comes from the evil one" - the father of lies. If no one ever lied, there would be no need for oaths to affirm the truth, and a simple "yes" or "no" would be accepted as a truth-revealing response.

Language, technology, and even crime grow more complex daily. Christianity must counterpoint the tangled complexity with holy pristine simplicity. As "sheep among wolves," we must be "in the world but not of it," while coping with its evil intrigue - being "shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves" (Mt 10:16) Paul invites us to try childlike (not childish) simplicity. "In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults" (1Cor 14:20).

This excerpt is from the book One-Minute Meditations for Busy People, by John H. Hampsch, C.M.F., originally published by Servant Publications. It and other of Fr. Hampsch's books and audio/video recordings can be purchased from Claretian Teaching Ministry, 20610 Manhattan Pl, #120, Torrance, CA 90501-1863. Phone 1-310-782-6408 or www.Catholicbooks.net