Was he caught out? Was it a deep fake? Or, or, or? Time alone will tell what will happen to the Pembrokeshire County Councillor who was allegedly caught stating that ‘all white men should have a black slave’ and that black people are ‘lower class’.

I have no idea if the allegations are true, but I would like to share a few of the thoughts that buzzed around my little grey cells as I reflected on this very upsetting story.

To begin with, I couldn’t help thinking that if anyone did actually say the words in question they were clearly lacking any sense of judgement given the sensibilities of our current culture. Even Agatha Christie and P J Wodehouse are being ‘sanitised’ because of some the things they wrote, so how could anyone think they could get away with such distasteful comments? Having said that, we can all say stupid things at times, which is a good reason why we should keep a tight rein on our tongues. As the apostle James argued, words can often prove pretty inflammatory.

We would do well to heed the apostle Paul’s advice that foul-mouthed speaking should be off limits too. The apostle used a fascinating Greek adjective when talking about this kind of speech. Coarse, vulgar, and dishonest speech can be described as ‘sapros’, a Greek word commonly employed to describe rotten fruit. Unkind, demeaning comments certainly deserve that description even if they are supposedly said in jest. That’s why we ought to keep our mouths shut if we can’t be sure that our words will have a positive impact on those listening to us.

But the comments in question were more than ill judged, I reckon they are an insult to the God who created every one of us in His own image too. No one made that point more clearly (and more courageously) than the late Dr Martin Luther King. In one of his most powerful sermons he pointed out that to believe in segregation and racial inferiority is nothing short of blasphemy, and is against everything the Christian faith stands for. After all, Christians believe ‘From one human being he created all races of people and made them live throughout the whole earth’.

The recording in question, whatever its source, is symptomatic of the state of the person’s heart. Jesus made that very point when he heard people spreading malicious lies about Him. This is how He put it: ‘For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.’ “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”

Please don’t underestimate the significance of His final sentence. God can see and hear everything we say and do and, like it or not, everyone of us will all have to stand before Him to give an account of our lives. And that will include the words we use. That is a fearful prospect. ‘Woodbine Willy’ the famous World War One padre clearly understood this which is why he wrote “And boys, I’d rather be frizzled up in the flames of a burning ‘ell than stand and look into ‘is face and ‘ear ‘is voice say “Well”.