In Proverbs 15:1 it says; "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." It goes on in 15:2 to say;"The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness." It has taken me a long time to get to the point where I can think before I speak, pray before I act and keep my mouth quiet not saying foolish things. Now, I struggle with this daily, there are those times where things just pop out and I think,"Oh, Lord, where did that come from?" But I am learning I don't always have to have the last word, I don't always have to "Win" a discussion, and it is always safer to just hush up and let God do the talking. Many times its not so much what we say, but how we say it. We don't have to be the loudest person in the room, we don't have to share all of our opinions. It has been years now since a sweet friend shared this verse with me when I was in a position I could have made much worse, but with these words, the Lord just filled me with His peace, He gave me the wisdom to know when to speak and what to say, making the situation better, and having me walking away knowing I followed the Lord in having my answers be quiet, not overreacting, not getting angry, but speaking straight from my heart. It isn't always easy is it? Sometimes we just want to shout out and say,"What is wrong with you?" We want to shake someone to their senses, make them see what is right. But that is not always where we are to be. The Lord cannot do His will and way if we are always in the way with our mouths. And giving someone an answer full of anger and bitterness never makes a situation better, it brings strife, it brings harsh words and people walking away more angry than before. How do I know this? I have been there, I have been on both sides, hearing the harsh words that are like ak knife in your heart, and spilling out words of anger before thinking. Hindsight is 20/20 right? After we have spilled blood with our words, we sit back and ask ourselves,why? If only I would have not said those words, if only I would have listened more, if only can go on and on and on, but when we trust in the Lord, when we are walking in His Spirit, when we make the effort, the choice to think before we speak, to pray before we go to someone, it brings peace to our hearts and for those we are talking to, it allows them to see how much we love them, not condemn them. Words can either bring people closer to Christ or take them further away. We can't push someone to Christ, they must get there by listening to the Holy Spirit. Words should always be spoken with love, and if we are angry wait, pray and come together when you can speak without talking over one another. Words hurt, words can bring us to tears, or they can bring joy and bring us to laughter, the choice is ours when we open our mouths. Proverbs 15:18 also adds; "A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger allays contention."Nothing good can come of anger, nothing good comes from hurtful words except hurt. When we want to make a situation better we aren't going to get there with fiery words. Where are you today? Are you the one who has had harsh words spoken to you? If so, forgive, let go and let God heal the situation. Hanging on to anger only tears you apart. If you are the one who has spoken hurtful words, go back to the one you hurt and humbly say you are sorry for the words you have spoken. Its amazing what being humble can bring, it takes two people to argue. If one is speaking kind words, if one is showing love, the other will have nothing to fight against. The Lord gave us the gift of language, and He knew just how much trouble we would have with our gift. For the next time you are in a situation where words are flying and hitting you like a shotgun, stand back, pray and ask the Lord to help you bring peace with your tongue~
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
how loud do you speak?
In Proverbs 15:1 it says; "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." It goes on in 15:2 to say;"The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness." It has taken me a long time to get to the point where I can think before I speak, pray before I act and keep my mouth quiet not saying foolish things. Now, I struggle with this daily, there are those times where things just pop out and I think,"Oh, Lord, where did that come from?" But I am learning I don't always have to have the last word, I don't always have to "Win" a discussion, and it is always safer to just hush up and let God do the talking. Many times its not so much what we say, but how we say it. We don't have to be the loudest person in the room, we don't have to share all of our opinions. It has been years now since a sweet friend shared this verse with me when I was in a position I could have made much worse, but with these words, the Lord just filled me with His peace, He gave me the wisdom to know when to speak and what to say, making the situation better, and having me walking away knowing I followed the Lord in having my answers be quiet, not overreacting, not getting angry, but speaking straight from my heart. It isn't always easy is it? Sometimes we just want to shout out and say,"What is wrong with you?" We want to shake someone to their senses, make them see what is right. But that is not always where we are to be. The Lord cannot do His will and way if we are always in the way with our mouths. And giving someone an answer full of anger and bitterness never makes a situation better, it brings strife, it brings harsh words and people walking away more angry than before. How do I know this? I have been there, I have been on both sides, hearing the harsh words that are like ak knife in your heart, and spilling out words of anger before thinking. Hindsight is 20/20 right? After we have spilled blood with our words, we sit back and ask ourselves,why? If only I would have not said those words, if only I would have listened more, if only can go on and on and on, but when we trust in the Lord, when we are walking in His Spirit, when we make the effort, the choice to think before we speak, to pray before we go to someone, it brings peace to our hearts and for those we are talking to, it allows them to see how much we love them, not condemn them. Words can either bring people closer to Christ or take them further away. We can't push someone to Christ, they must get there by listening to the Holy Spirit. Words should always be spoken with love, and if we are angry wait, pray and come together when you can speak without talking over one another. Words hurt, words can bring us to tears, or they can bring joy and bring us to laughter, the choice is ours when we open our mouths. Proverbs 15:18 also adds; "A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger allays contention."Nothing good can come of anger, nothing good comes from hurtful words except hurt. When we want to make a situation better we aren't going to get there with fiery words. Where are you today? Are you the one who has had harsh words spoken to you? If so, forgive, let go and let God heal the situation. Hanging on to anger only tears you apart. If you are the one who has spoken hurtful words, go back to the one you hurt and humbly say you are sorry for the words you have spoken. Its amazing what being humble can bring, it takes two people to argue. If one is speaking kind words, if one is showing love, the other will have nothing to fight against. The Lord gave us the gift of language, and He knew just how much trouble we would have with our gift. For the next time you are in a situation where words are flying and hitting you like a shotgun, stand back, pray and ask the Lord to help you bring peace with your tongue~
