Careless Wordsby Dale Harcombe | More from this Blogger 10 Dec 2007 03:41 PM Our words and our actions reveal who we are. No where is this more true than with family. With family we tend to let our guard down. With family we often behave in a way we would not with other people. This is often because we know family will love us no matter what we say or do. And so it is easy to slip into an attitude of spilling out exactly how we feel when we are angry or hurt or upset. Yes, I'm talking from experience here. God showed me only this week that I still have to work on this, as I can let my words run away from me when upset. Unfortunately not only did my words pour out when they shouldn't have but the volume got louder, as though someone had turned the volume up to extra loud. It's no excuse for me to say the other person was in the wrong (in my opinion) because they weren't listening to what I was saying and so caused me to increase my volume. That is no excuse. I'm not responsible for anyone else's behavior, only mine. Afterwards, I knew I'd behaved abominably and apologized. But not before I'd read this passage from God's Word and it cut me to the quick, 'And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned', Matthew 12:36-37. This passage challenged me to think about how guilty I was of letting fly with careless words. What about you? Think over your week. Have you been guilty of careless words? Have another look at what God has to say about this in Matthew 12:36-37. How does that make you feel? I know how it made me feel. The old rhyme we chanted as kids, 'sticks and stones will break my bones but words can never hurt me,' is along way from true. Words can hurt and pierce the heart. Some words are hard to forgive. Harder still to forget. This is why we need to be careful with our words. No wonder James calls the tongue 'a restless evil and full of deadly poison,' James 3:8. In another verse he rightly calls the tongue 'a fire,' James 3:6 and said that with it 'we bless our Lord and Father and with it we curse men who have been made in the likeness of God, James 3:9.' I wonder if these verses challenged you as much as they challenged me. Bible verses taken from The New American Standard Version Words and actions reveal the heart attitude Learn more about Dale Harcombe  Dale has a passion for books and writing. She writes in various forms, from articles to poetry to fiction for children and adults. Relevantchristian tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags actions, careless words, Tongue Discuss this article
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