Proverbs 1:15 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Matthew 12:36–37 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
James 1:26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.
James 3:8 But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
I am eighty years old; I am learning that James 3:8 means what it is supposed to pass on to humans. I have, in the past few years, said that “I have a bridled tongue.” Call it misinformation, untrue, wakey thinking, or wishful thinking. In a split second, words can escape and seemingly will not be stopped. They may not even be ‘harsh words’; they still are bad pieces to a beautiful puzzle. They do not really sound acceptable, to human ears and understanding. I have to be truthful about my writing also. I can read it several times over, and edit/delete and make changes. However, speaking is different; one cannot bring back ‘undesirable words once out of your lips.’ My grandfather was an ordained minister. I maybe thought about being the same, but ‘fixing the written words’ is safer.
Maybe we do not understand fully about the ‘bad weather’ the weatherman is broadcasting via the waves buzzing through the cold air. We may not have faith in his words, and head for the Interstate for our planned holiday weekend regardless. Getting to midway of our trip, we find out, via our car radio, that the Interstate highway we are on is blocked by a snow storm. Not only where we have pulled off the road, but it has blocked the ‘on’ ramps we just came from, plus the ‘off’ ramps at our destination are also blocked. Divine intervention has the last word in our predicament—snow vehicles are on the way with assistance. (Thank you, Lord.)
It is very wise to keep our words as Proverbs 1:15 shows us. Plus the other three at the top of this page.
by Robert D. Anderson
(Note: Getting your Covid shots reveals wisdom. Please help others stay alive.)
Fruit of The Spirit- Garden 