WILL I EVER GET IT?

WILL I EVER GET IT?

"Kind words heal and help; cutting words wound and maim." -- Proverbs 15:4 THE MESSAGE

Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get it. I know one day I will -- and that gives me hope. But until then, I need to constantly remind myself that my tongue is a powerful weapon. Too often I find myself speaking first and then thinking about what I said.

James gives an amazing word picture in James 3 about the power of this little member that could be classified as a weapon of mass destruction:

"A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word of our your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish anything -- or destroy it! It only takes a SPARK, remember to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can't tame a tongue -- it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth." (from The MESSAGE)

How often my words have been a weapon of mass-destruction. Have you ever been there? It's like dropping the atomic bomb -- before you have a chance to think about what you've said, your word(s) have caused catastrophic destruction. I'm not proud to say that I have done that with my wife, my kids, my staff. I've seen that look in their eyes -- I drop the bomb and the hurt is there.

I need to prayerfully consider my words before I speak them. Play the tape to the final conclusion. I can understand now the cry of King David's heart: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my FIRM, IMPENETRABLE ROCK and my REDEEMER." Psalm 19:14 from the Amplified Bible. My prayer today is that my words will bringing healing and help not wound or maim.

Steve and Annie Chapman will be sharing about MARRIED LOVERS AND FRIENDS on this week's KESWICK TODAY broadcasts. Steve and Annie will be speaking at our June Couple's Weekend. Check out the broadcast right from the Keswick homepage: www.americaskeswick.org.