Socrates, the great Greek philosopher, was once stopped by an acquaintance as he passed

through the markets. “I’ve something important to tell you,” he said. “It’s about your friend.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Socrates said. “But, don’t tell me just yet. I run all information

through the Three Filters Test to ascertain if I want to know it.” The man looked somewhat

puzzled as Socrates continued, “First is the filter of truth. Whatever you want to tell me, have

you seen or witnessed it first-hand?” “Umm…I actually heard it from someone,” the man said,

“and, it is from a trusted source.” “Alright. But that does not pass my first test,” Socrates added,

“since you don’t know whether it’s true.”

“Second is the filter of goodness. Is that a good statement you want to make about my

friend?” “Not really. That’s the reason I wanted—” Socrates interjected, “So, you want to tell me

something bad about someone but don’t know if it’s true.”

“The last is the filter of utility.” He continued, “Your statement about my friend, is that

going to be useful to me?” “Not really as such. I just wanted to share” “Well, if the information

is not necessarily true, it is not good, and, it is of no use,” Socrates concluded, “please, I don’t

want to know about it.”

The tongue is a small member that can cause big trouble (James 3:5-6). In Matthew

12:33-34, Jesus taught us that we will be known by our fruit, and the mouth bears the fruit of the

heart. I think all of us could do a better job of guarding our tongue. As Christians, there needs to

be a lot more thinking before we speak, and the words we speak need to be spoken in love.

~Brad Tolbert