Gracious Lord, I give thanks this morning for allowing me to see another day. I am blessed to know that I am your child, and have an opportunity for eternal life, based on the love you have for us and the obedience to your word. Father I pray that you remove any hindrances from us that will prohibit us from hearing the instructions on our lives, and instill in us a spirit of truth, so that we have the only focus of serving you. I pray a blessing on the reader of your word, and more a blessing on the doer. I pray that all who reads are in a right mind. I pray that they are comforted, and pray that they are at peace. If not Lord, I pray that you grant them it, if it be your will. And Father, please forgive us of our trespasses, whether in thought, speech, or deed. We honor you. We love you. We give you all the praise and these we pray in the precious name of your Son Jesus. Amen
I do not like watching chick shows. I really don’t. There were times where my wife somehow tricked me into watching Lifetime with her. It is bad enough how I am already hooked on General Hospital, but that is another story. Any-who, as I was saying, I don’t like watching them. They have the guys in these shows all wimpy and stuff. For example you have a man and woman arguing for some reason. They have been arguing back and forth saying mean things to each other, and then the man says something really hurtful. Then there is the awkward silence, the woman tears up, then the man says he is sorry and did not mean to say it. Man up buddy! Of course you did. The both of them were going back and forth saying other hurtful things to each other. It is only because he saw the affect it had on her, why he said he did not mean it. Suppose she did not respond and kept going back and forth with him? Would he still say he did not mean to say it? You and I know the answer. The truth is, he said what he had on his heart.
The bible states “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Lu 6:45) Have this ever happened to you? It has to me as well. We need to learn how to curb our tongue. We are human beings with emotions and sometimes if we are not careful, our emotions can get the best of us. We all have the ability to say some hurtful things, but that does not necessarily make us evil. However we must take great care in how we manage the words that leave our lips especially if the conversation we are having gets heated. Do you remember how it felt when you said something that you shouldn’t? It makes you feel low doesn’t it? What about how the hearer feels? It reminds me of a story I read a while back. I do not know the title, but it goes as follows:
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.
The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there.”
The little boy then understood how powerful his words were. He looked up at his father and said “I hope you can forgive me father for the holes I put in you.”
“Of course I can,” said the father.
The bottom line is, words that hurt, are normally said when in anger. That was a beautiful lesson the father taught his son. If we are able to physically see the effect of our words when spoken in anger towards someone, we would be extremely mindful in what we say in the future. The bible states “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.” (Pr 10:19) Family, as I look back on the carnage I left when I did not curb my tongue, I make it a daily ritual to speak less, and if speech is necessary, it is to speak edification. Will you join me? Amen
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