d earnestly religious a person is, the more important it is
that they should be agreeable."

"But, uncle," said Helen, "what does that text mean that we began with?
What are idle words?"

"My dear, if you will turn to the place where the passage is (Matt.
xii.) and read the whole page, you will see the meaning of it. Christ
was not reproving any body for trifling conversation at the time; but
for a very serious slander. The Pharisees, in their bitterness, accused
him of being in league with evil spirits. It seems, by what follows,
that this was a charge which involved an unpardonable sin. They were
not, indeed, conscious of its full guilt--they said it merely from the
impulse of excited and envious feeling--but he warns them that in the
day of judgment, God will hold them accountable for the full
consequences of all such language, however little they may have thought
of it at the time of uttering it. The sense of the passage I take to be,
'God will hold you responsible in the day of judgment for the
consequences of all you have said in your most idle and thoughtless
moments.'"

"For example," said Helen, "if one makes unguarded and unfounded
assertions about the Bible, which excite doubt and prejudice."

"There are many instances," said her uncle, "that are quite in point.
Suppose in conversation, either under the influence of envy or ill will,
or merely from love of talking, you make remarks and statements about
another person which may be true or may not,--you do not stop to
inquire,--your unguarded words set reports in motion, and unhappiness,
and hard feeling, and loss of character are the result. You spoke idly,
it is true, but nevertheless you are held responsible by God for all the
consequences of your words. So professors of religion often make
unguarded remarks about each other, which lead observers to doubt the
truth of all religion; and they are responsible for every such doubt
they excite. Parents and guardians often allow themselves to speak of
the faults and weaknesses of their ministers in the presence of children
and younger people--they do it thoughtlessly--but in so doing they
destroy an influence which might otherwise have saved the souls of their
children; they are responsible for it. People of cultivated minds and
fastidious taste often allow themselves to come home from church, and
criticize a sermon, and unfold all its weak points in the presence of
others on whom it may have made a very serio