"Congratulations!"?

It's amazing how often we really need to watch out words - even the good ones can be the wrong ones depending on who we're talking to and why. Keep reading, you'll understand...

What is the "normal" thing to say when you see a pregnant woman - one that you know?

"Congratulations!"  - you guessed right.

Well, that's what I did recently and then wanted to bite my tongue for saying the right thing to the wrong person. This person is an unwed mother - in a "partner-ship." From experience, I know that marriage is a Partnership however those who are going DOWN the route of being partners and living with each other - among other things, are not married and living in sin.

Ok, before I go too far, let's define Marriage  -it's a union between a man (born male) and a woman ( born female) recognized by law - and approved/blessed by their families... 

Now we have that settled, as I was saying, as Christians we really need to be careful what we "commend" and even congratulate others for. As I found out, in this case, it is so easy to get caught in the moment and join others to say "Congratulations!" without really thinking about what  "Congrats!" from your mouth in that situation really means - especially when you know the situation.

For me, this reinforced the advice to "think before your speak" in a deeper way. I definitely couldn't say: "I take back my Congratulations" - but I could think and not speak any more in "support" and that's what I did at that time. When I saw she was pregnant, I'd assumed she'd gotten married - but alas not. Well, the next (& more progressive) step is to find time to talk to the person about getting married - you then wonder if that's my business. In a way it is... at least for the child's sake. It has been proven that children have better/balanced lives when their parents are married to each other. The evidence abounds around us too.

I know that I need to be careful not to go around condemning people - it's not my place to. Conversely, I also need to be careful that I don't go around commending and congratulating people for just anything. The next time you're about to "rejoice with those who rejoice"* as God expects us to, ask the Holy Spirit if God's also rejoicing,** if He's not, neither should we.

I'm sure that there are so many other such dilemmas that we face as Christians - which is why it's great to have the Holy Spirit as our Guide.*** I can confidently say:

"Congratulations!" to all of you who have the Holy Spirit in your lives. Way to go!!!

If you don't have Him yet, give your life to Christ and He will bless you with the Holy Spirit.

References:

* Rom 12:15 -Rejoice with those who rejoice [sharing others’ joy], and weep with those who weep [sharing others’ grief]. (Amplified)

** Zeph 3:17 - For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. (NLT)
***John 14: 16 & 16 - ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever. ²⁶ But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you. (Amplified)