No tags yet.
“Maybe if you made more money we wouldn’t be so strapped right now.” “You are so lazy – you never help out around the house!” “You only care about yourself.” “You never listen to me.” “You don’t pay attention to me.” “You’re a slob, grumpy, a jerk, a procrastinator…” Do any of these sound familiar? Now that I’ve gotten the ball rolling, I’m sure you can think of a few you have said that I didn’t mention. Sometimes our mouths are like a faucet of filth.
It’s usually not when things are going great that we are tempted to say such rude things. It’s usually when someone has gotten on our nerves or we are already upset about something else. It’s easy to be kind when there’s no pressure on us, but when certain buttons are pushed it’s just not so easy.
I’m pretty sure that people in our society would call me “religious”. That usually means that I go to church, pray, and read my Bible. However, James 1:26 gives us a more specified definition of someone who is religious.
If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.
It’s worthless? Now that is some heavy stuff. I can feel good about myself for going to church or praying for people, but if I can’t even control my tongue when I’m angry then my religion is barren. Nothing can be produced from it.
If you think about it, what ever really can be produced from harsh, venomous words? Let’s see: hurt, pain, destruction, separation. It doesn’t seem like anything good stems from words that attack. It just doesn’t happen.
I have a personal rule for myself that I have shared with only a few people in my life, but I want to share this rule with you. No matter how mad I am, or frustrated I am, I refuse to attack another person’s being. I will not attack their character, I will not attack their intentions, and I will not attack who they are as a person. No. Matter. What.
Words can bring life but they can also bring destruction. Words can never be taken back, and hurtful words can last a lifetime. You know this. You can bring up mean things spoken against you from decades ago. Words can be a slow poison that seeps into the soul of a human and eats away at all he or she wants to become. They become an anchor around your neck that pulls you back every time you start to aspire to something greater. Who am I to put that anchor on another human being?
It’s okay to let someone know that you don’t like something they’ve done, or that you would like to spend more time together, or that you have a need that is not being met. However, it is possible to do those things without tearing down a person’s being to get your point across. If you are angry and you start out your sentence with “You are” or “You always or never”, there is a good chance the second half of your sentence is not going to have positive results. Try starting out with, “I feel” or “I would like” and you may have a better outcome.
Instead of telling those that you love everything that they’re not, try telling them everything they can be.
Father, I know I have been guilty of using my words to tear others down. Even when I’m angry, I know this is not okay. I can lift my hands and worship You all I want, but if I can’t control my tongue then my religious acts are worthless. Please help me to honor You as I honor those around me with my words. Please give me the strength to not attack another person’s being, but instead give me Your words to tell them everything You’ve called them to be.