"There but for the Grace of God, go I"

It's a fairly common turn of phrase; mostly spoken by people, whom I believe, would probably bite off their tongue before saying it if they understood what it is they just said.

What they said was

1) I have God's Grace (cool beans)
2) therefore I am doing well (however 'well' is defined)
3) They are not doing well (we've just passed judgment and found their circumstances don't conform to our standard of 'well')
4) therefore 'they' must not have God's Grace (uh, oh)
5) which sometimes means that 'they' are not a good person otherwise they would have God's Grace, wouldn't they?

Cliff notes version: they aren't a good person or they would have God's Grace and not be in such bad shape.

Most of us don't pay attention to what we say or how it can be interpreted; the recent Biden/Obama dust up comes to mind. We engage our mouths without having taken the time to think of the words and how they can be parsed.

I'm not sure if we're ignorant, we're lazy or we just don't care; or perhaps some combination thereof. Geez, they're only words, after all. Words aren't really that important or we would have, oh, I dunno, put the protection of them in U.S. Constitution or something. Oh wait! We did. Hmm, you think the framers knew that words have power?

In case you can't tell, I find it ironic that one of the most sacrosanct documents we have here in the U.S. recognizes the importance and power of speech, yet, "We, the People" will argue against that same importance and power of speech and the words which comprise speech when it means we have to examine our own speech. Words have power. Why else do we discuss Democrat versus Democratic? Why debate the meaning and the implication of 'liberal' and 'progressive'? All words have power; not just the ones we cherry-pick at our own convenience.

Oh, and context and tone matter. Ever had a parent tell you "don't speak to me in that tone of voice" or have you or anyone you know ever said "it's not what you said, it's how you said it"? Ever had someone tell you or have you ever told someone that what they said was 'inappropriate' or 'uncalled for'? I know, I know, it's "hard work" "watching what we say" and how we say it. Personally, I think it's worth it.

If it's important to understand the power of Democratic versus Democrat, why isn't it also important to understand the use and context of all words and speech? (asked in general, not of the OP)

Oh well, hey, ya know "there but for the Grace of God, go I."