Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones.....
Wow. One thing I am sure of, in the midst of many things I am not. When we start a close journey with Christ, He gets in our business. Every day. I sometimes feel like I'm on speed or something, although I really don't know what that feels like. In my experience, I can only guess what I think some things might feel like, such as hitting a brick wall, being smacked in the face with a bat, or being on speed. The fact is, every day as I seriously study the Word and ask God to give me understanding and insight, He actually does. And 99% of the time, there is some part of my study for the day that causes me to experience one of the above ....hitting the brick wall of my obvious sin, being smacked in the face with my preoccupation with 'me', or the speed thing where there is so much going on in my brain about what I should be doing that I can't even sort it out. Today is a speed day, so if this post is mumbo-jumbo that is why.
I have never been one to shrink into the background...the shrinking violet syndrome. I am more the in your face venus flytrap. Whatever or whomever doesn't agree with me, after hearing my opinion whether wanting it or not, I might just eat. And that could happen to anyone, friend or foe. Through the years, I have tried to tame this tongue, and in some regard I have had a little success. I am far from checking this one off of my list, however, and have much more 'taming' to do.
That being said, I had an experience recently that made me much more cognizant on the power of that 'member' of our body, and the damage or edification that can be done by this darling little body part. Have you noticed that when you are doing something it doesn't seem so bad, however when someone else does it, well now that's a different story. This week I was able to clearly see a very dear friend deeply wounded by the comment of another friend. The motive was unclear, however I suspect it could have been an 'offhand' comment that was completely innocent. My friend spent days, however, paralyzed by the hurt this comment caused her. I so wished it had been me who was the recipient of the comment, because to see her hurt was very painful.
My dear friend, the Holy Spirit, took this opportunity to cause me to reflect on my own tongue, and what damage it may have caused to other people. Haven't had a very good time with it either, let me tell you. I can't begin to count the number of times brought to my mind where my words, whether the intent was vicious or not, were ugly, cutting, and just mean. The times I thought I knew more about a subject than someone else and promptly let them know it. The times I made fun of someone or made a negative comment behind someone's back. The times I lost my cool and called names or blurted out hurtful things to another person that were better left unsaid. The sarcasm. The hits below the belt. The self-righteousness. Sickening.
Our Father must have known this would be a big issue for us. There are MANY scriptures about words and the tongue. I will include them tomorrow, with a few more ideas on this subject. In the meantime, see what scripture you find about the tongue. Reflect on this subject. Have you broken any bones with your words? Or do you have old 'word' injuries that have healed over but still ache when it starts to rain? Words do hurt......so much more than sticks and stones.
I have never been one to shrink into the background...the shrinking violet syndrome. I am more the in your face venus flytrap. Whatever or whomever doesn't agree with me, after hearing my opinion whether wanting it or not, I might just eat. And that could happen to anyone, friend or foe. Through the years, I have tried to tame this tongue, and in some regard I have had a little success. I am far from checking this one off of my list, however, and have much more 'taming' to do.
That being said, I had an experience recently that made me much more cognizant on the power of that 'member' of our body, and the damage or edification that can be done by this darling little body part. Have you noticed that when you are doing something it doesn't seem so bad, however when someone else does it, well now that's a different story. This week I was able to clearly see a very dear friend deeply wounded by the comment of another friend. The motive was unclear, however I suspect it could have been an 'offhand' comment that was completely innocent. My friend spent days, however, paralyzed by the hurt this comment caused her. I so wished it had been me who was the recipient of the comment, because to see her hurt was very painful.
My dear friend, the Holy Spirit, took this opportunity to cause me to reflect on my own tongue, and what damage it may have caused to other people. Haven't had a very good time with it either, let me tell you. I can't begin to count the number of times brought to my mind where my words, whether the intent was vicious or not, were ugly, cutting, and just mean. The times I thought I knew more about a subject than someone else and promptly let them know it. The times I made fun of someone or made a negative comment behind someone's back. The times I lost my cool and called names or blurted out hurtful things to another person that were better left unsaid. The sarcasm. The hits below the belt. The self-righteousness. Sickening.
Our Father must have known this would be a big issue for us. There are MANY scriptures about words and the tongue. I will include them tomorrow, with a few more ideas on this subject. In the meantime, see what scripture you find about the tongue. Reflect on this subject. Have you broken any bones with your words? Or do you have old 'word' injuries that have healed over but still ache when it starts to rain? Words do hurt......so much more than sticks and stones.
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