March 16 2012

What Did You Say?
 
 
Reading: James 3:3-6, 3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

A little girl, who was struggling with gossiping about her friends, went to her grandpa after hurting a friend’s feelings through gossip. Her grandpa wisely took her up into tower on a blustery day and gave her a pillow. He then told her to take a pair of scissors, cut it open and shake all of the feathers out of the pillow. The feathers quickly scattered in the wind and they stood quietly watching the journey of the feathers across the countryside. The little girl’s grandpa then told her to go collect all of the feathers and put them back in the pillowcase. “That’s impossible!”, she adamantly declared. “So, it is impossible to retrieve or repair gossip that is scattered on the lips of others after you release it.”
 
Please really consider, do you say things about other people, true or untrue?
 
How do you feel when others do that to you?
 
 
 
Challenge: Today, do not say a single negative thing against another person. Every time you open your mouth to speak today, consider, will this “corrupt” or “bless”?
 
What could be a hindrance from you committing to this challenge?
 
 

REVIEW
 
Did your mouth bless or corrupt today?
 
 
How did this affect your day?