Careless Words
It
is amazing how much we can learn about God from children. As I watch my
students each day, I learn so many lessons from them until it is almost
mindboggling. Just the other day I learned 2 valuable ones from one of my
students. This is the first one. Careless words can hurt and they can destroy.
I
know you are probably thinking that we all know that. True. But, it is still a
lesson worth repeating. Children don’t seem to realize that the little thing in
their mouths called a tongue can get them into a world of trouble. The Bible
says in James 3: 4-7: Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are
driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the
inclination of the pilot desires. 5So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts
of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!
6And the tongue is a fire, the very
world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles
the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by
hell.…
One
of my students learned this lesson after she decided to announce to the class
how much she wished I would go away. This little announcement came as the
result of my correcting her inappropriate behavior. Once the words were out of
her mouth, the write up slip was filled out and sent to the principal’s office.
Next, the call was made to her coach and to her parent. In the end, she was
severely punished for not controlling her tongue.
Yes,
we all get angry. Yes, we all think evil thoughts at times. Sometimes those
evil thoughts are about our boss, our co-workers, our fellow church members,
and even our spouses. However, we don’t just say these things out loud. If we
did, it could have disastrous results. We could lose our jobs, our spouses, and
our places in society. There are so many marriages and relationships that have been
brought to ruins over careless words~careless whispers. So, what do we do?
First,
as Christians, we learn to bridle our tongues. We pray and ask God to help us
when our boss or our spouse or our co-worker is getting on our last nerves. We
ask him to show us why we don’t like our neighbors. You would be surprised at
the answer.
This
brings me to the second thing we must do: Pray. Several years ago there was a
nurse that I worked with. Without knowing why, I talked about her negatively
all the time. I was constantly pointing out her faults and talking down about her
to my family and friends. One day, this question popped into my head: “Why does
this woman irritated you so much?” I stopped and gave this question some
serious thought. Then, the answer came to me.
I didn’t like this young woman because I was
jealous of her. I was jealous of the fact that she didn’t have children and
could do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. I had a small child, and my activities
centered around caring for him. I was jealous of the fact that she had more
money left over after she paid her bills. I was jealous of the fact that her
parents had bought her a car, and my parents had not been able to do the same
for me. I had had to purchase my own car and pay my own bills. Yes, I was jealous.
Once
this reality came to me, I learned to control my tongue, and I stopped talking
about her. I prayed and God showed me that I also had many things to be
thankful for.
The
tongue is such a dangerous thing. It can lead us to success or it can lead us
to death. We must learn to choose our words wisely.
