Taming the tongue: What’s in the well will be in the bucket

Posted on February 18, 2008 

Filed Under Brandon Renfroe, Christian Growth, Devotionals

by Brandon Renfroe

As anyone familiar with the Bible could tell you, wells serve as a backdrop to many narratives. It was Isaac who “digged again” the wells of his father Abraham, after the Philistines had stopped them in their jealousy (cf. Gen. 26:14, 18). Isaac’s son, Jacob, was the proprietor of a well that would later be the centerpiece of a famous New Testament discussion between the Savior and a Samaritan woman (cf. Jn. 4). It is a decidedly less-famous well in rural Alabama, though, that I wish to briefly make reference.

My paternal grandfather was born in 1909. He grew up in the South and was already a young adult by the time of the Great Depression. He married in 1933 and would go on to raise six children. Having spent much of his life on a farm, he had many interesting anecdotes to relate. While he relished sharing his stories with anyone who would listen, especially did he enjoy regaling his grandchildren with tales from the past. One choice nugget involved the well from which the family drew their water.

Those who have sampled “well water” often comment upon its superiority to tap water, due to the fact that water from underground sources seems to be colder and crisper. After growing accustomed to such water, and knowing the source from which it springs, the slightest change in its taste can be immediate cause for concern.

Along those lines, perhaps after noticing a pungent taste in their water, and realizing the family cat had been missing for some time, my grandfather’s children came to a rather unsettling conclusion. For the sake of brevity””and decency””I will allow the reader the put the pieces of this puzzle together. Suffice it to say, the country maxim “What’s in the well will be in the bucket” never rang truer.

Today, it is not out of the question to ask, “What’s in our “˜bucket’?” What we say when caught off guard or in heated moments can often be a ready indicator of our spiritual well-being, or lack thereof. As Christ indicated, it is “out of the abundance of the heart” that “the mouth speaketh” (Mt. 12:34).

Oftentimes, the “Sunday speak” of those who profess to be Christians is far different from their workplace vernacular. It is beyond embarrassing to admit that at times it is hoped some will never confess to being a member of the “church of Christ” lest others believe all Christians conduct themselves in similar fashion. As James would say, “My brethren, these things ought not so to be” (Jas. 3:10).

Should we happen upon a police officer while traveling a mile or two per hour faster than we should, what sentiments are first and foremost in our hearts? Should we hit our thumb with a hammer, what is our reaction? It might be best for a few to “swear off” the use of all power tools, lest they “swear off,” literally. Others resort to milder, though similar, forms to express their displeasure. It seems never to have occurred to some to simply say, “Ow.”

As Christians, we are to “let [our] speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that [we] may know how [we] ought to answer every man” (Col. 4:6). We should utter “sound speech, that cannot be condemned” (Tit. 2:8), refusing to let any “corrupt communication proceed out of [our] mouth” (Eph. 4:29).

This is by far the wisest course to pursue, especially in view of the fact that for “every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Mt. 12:36). Do we have “honest and good” hearts (cf. Lk. 8:15)? As Christ could have told us, what’s in the well will be in the bucket.

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