āAnd the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.ā
James 3:6
None of us are the same.
Thatās a good thing.
Iām thankful that God made us to be unique individuals.
But because weāre all different, we have different emotional profiles:
Some people are high-strung.
Some people are laid back.
Some are easily angered.
Some rarely get angry.
Some are easily offended.
Some have thick, thick skin.
One of the things that God tells us to be careful with is our tongue.
WHAT we say and even HOW we say it can make or break relationships.
Happens all the time, everyday.
Someone is going to say something today that offendsā¦and those words are going to fester and build into an act of aggression.
Prisons, hospitals, and cemetaries are full of people who either said the wrong thing, or responded to someone else who said the wrong thing to them.
There are areas in YOUR life that are dry tinderā¦and those sensitive areas can be set on fire by the wrong words which will offend, hurt, annoy, or destroy you.
By the same token, we need to recognize the dry tinder that exists in other peopleās lives, and use our words graciously.
You never know 100% of what someone else is going through in lifeā¦people need to hear the grace of our God, not the fire of our careless words.
The best way to handle the dry tinder in our souls?
Wash our hearts and minds in the Living Water. Bathe your heart and mind in Scripture so that flaming, offensive words will not catch your life on fire. (Itās really hard to catch a pond, lake, or river on fire.)
Individuals, homes, churches, governments, and businesses are hard to destroy when theyāre rooted in Christ and saturated with the Word.
Be careful with your flaming tongue.
Itās a good day to use gracious words.
My favorite sentence: āPeople need to hear the grace of our God, not the fire of our careless words.ā
I try to remind myself daily that how I respond to othersāand to my own thoughtsāis a choice. Truth be told, nobody makes me get mad or hurt, ultimately I choose my own emotions. Yes, thereās the initial flare upāthat comes outābut what I do next is key. Your pour on the water of the Word suggestion is spot on, brother! Also, a good first step to dealing well with dry tinder is knowing where it is. For instance, I have a āThatās not fair!ā button that is easily pushed. Itās a work in progress, but Iāve learned to take a deep breath at these times and remember that life isnāt always fair. And thatās just the way it is. Then, I get back in there and work to make whatever it is fairer! Blessings, brother!
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You always make good points, brother David! Knowing my own buttons has been key to staying out of trouble, but especially when I have a Scriptural truth covering that particular weakness.
Iām thinking of a panel of switches with clear plastic flip covers over each switchā¦.a guard against the accidental āflipā which lets loose the dogs of war.š
My switch is false accusations, to be honest. They donāt come often, but Iām learning to let them roll off like water off a ducks back.šš»
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Your plastic switch cover analogy could be a post in itself. Memorizing key scriptures, to slow our natural response, serves the same purpose. Another good thought Iāve heard is, the power of a particular emotion doesnāt necessarily determine its value. Negative emotions can pack a real š„ punch, but we can get better at taking them.š
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Washing our hearts and minds in the Living Water offered in Scripture is a wonderfully cleansing experience. Comparing the raw emotions of others to dry tinder is a good visual image to help put a guard on our tongues. Great post! š
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Amen Eric! May I constantly douse the tinder areas in my life with God’s Word that they won’t catch fire. There is no soothing balm like His Word applied each day.
Thank you and God bless you today brother š
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You are right and made me laughā¦sometimes I burn myself spiritually speaking and need to treat my wounds with Gods soothing balm!
Have a blessed day!!
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