Words

Good Morning all. Today is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt me. Did you teach that to kids? Well, I did. I told my kids not to worry about what others thought or said. But deep down words hurt. They truly hurt. And some words are toothpaste words, you can't put them back in the tube once they are said. So as God woke me up this morning, He took me to HIS WORDS. Proverbs 15:1-2. "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness." Sometimes I don't realize that my words even though not meant to be harmful are harmful. God slapped it right upside my head. When I am just venting to someone and the words come out and then the next morning God says "You should not have said that." He tells me that I should allow the Holy Spirit to guide my words because I am a light unto the world and those words could hurt someone. And then to really drive the lesson home He sent me to James 3:2-6. "For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts of great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell." Wow what a knock upside the head. Ok God, I understand but I need YOU to do this. I need you to teach me how to pause my mouth even when I don't realize I am speaking words that will harm someone or that someone will use against another. Shut my mouth just like you shut the mouths of the lions. No toothpaste words. Think before we speak. Does your words lift someone up or tear them down? If they tear down, don't do it. Have a blessed day and rise up children of God, rise up!